Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health: E-Cigs May Be Effecitve and Safe

[Placebo Effect]

Canadian vapers, this is a good thing, and you should be writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper talking about this finding and telling your story about quitting e-cigarettes.

Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, September 30, 2011: "The clinical evidence regarding the utility and safety of electronic cigarettes and the associated cartridges was limited; however, evidence suggests that electronic cigarettes may be an effective and safe means for smoking cessation."

http://cadth.ca/media/pdf/htis/sept-2011/RB0424_E-Cigarettes.pdf

Funded by Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments, CADTH is an independent, not-for-profit agency that delivers timely, evidence-based information to health care leaders about the effectiveness and efficiency of health technologies.

About CADTH | CADTH

 

[kanadiankat]

Thank you so much for sharing this info.

Good find.

Good job.

 

[muleygirl]

Thanks for the info.
Who knows maybe the tides are finally changing.

 

[Sec]

Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, September 30, 2011: "The clinical evidence regarding the utility and safety of electronic cigarettes and the associated cartridges was limited; however, evidence suggests that electronic cigarettes may be an effective and safe means for smoking cessation."

Hate to sound like a child here but.... "DUH" - maybe they are finally opening their eyes

 

[Switched]

Canadian vapers, this is a good thing, and you should be writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper talking about this finding and telling your story about quitting e-cigarettes.

Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, September 30, 2011: "The clinical evidence regarding the utility and safety of electronic cigarettes and the associated cartridges was limited; however, evidence suggests that electronic cigarettes may be an effective and safe means for smoking cessation."

http://cadth.ca/media/pdf/htis/sept-2011/RB0424_E-Cigarettes.pdf



About CADTH | CADTH

Thanks for sharing. They sound like a clone of the "nudge program" in the UK. OTOH I urge everyone to watch the vids in this link. 1 hr a piece. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/canada-forum/234776-great-discussion.html

The discussion takes on a good twist at around 18 min mark of the second vid. Although the UK vaping scene has received great publicity and exposure in recent months, the European Union has a different take on the whole subject, not only of tobacco but of nicotine as well. It will be interesting to see what develops on that scene.

 

[kalvinf]

Funded by Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments, CADTH is an independent, not-for-profit agency that delivers timely, evidence-based information to health care leaders about the effectiveness and efficiency of health technologies.
About CADTH | CADTH

The existance of CADTH as a government agency with this mandate seems to be the best counter-point to HC uninformed policies.

 

[Mindfield]

Interesting. A government-appointed body not affiliated with HC studying E-cigs in Canada? Will wonders never cease.

My main concern however is still HC's insistence on classifying E-cigs as drug delivery devices, and this study does nothing to address that. It's a step in the right direction though, and hopefully its statement that this warrants further study will result in a larger, more comprehensive study that will yield positive results.

 

[zer0ith]

At least for once this is not something negative or complete B.S.

 

[Mindfield]

At least for once this is not something negative or complete B.S.

True enough. The real test will be seeing in what's done with it, especially if further research is performed.

 

[Can_supplier]

Very very strange.. Never heard of these guys before, it a very weak paper in medical terms.

If you check their board of directors you will find:

Board of Directors | CADTH

Ms. Abby Hoffman
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Policy Branch, Health Canada

Something is up with this, just not sure what. Maybe the new angle is because e-cigs are an effective smoking cessation product they should be regulated?? I can't see Hoffman shooting herself in the foot, right under her nose.

Something we should watch very closely.

 

[Mindfield]

Very very strange.. Never heard of these guys before, it a very weak paper in medical terms.

If you check their board of directors you will find:

Board of Directors | CADTH

Ms. Abby Hoffman
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Policy Branch, Health Canada

Something is up with this, just not sure what. Maybe the new angle is because e-cigs are an effective smoking cessation product they should be regulated?? I can't see Hoffman shooting herself in the foot, right under her nose.

Something we should watch very closely.

Has she played any significant role in the current HC policy regarding E-cigs? Perhaps she could be a dissenting voice in that policy and may be of the opinion that E-cigs are beneficial.

 

[Placebo Effect]

Seriously -- write a letter to the editor of your local paper about your experience with e-cigs and how Health Canada's rigid regulatory system means certain death for Canadian smokers who are being denied the opportunity to buy them.

You may even want to point out that because no North American company owns the patent for e-cigarette technology, there is no company that will step up to spend the millions of dollars necessary to get approval as a drug delivery device.

 

[Can_supplier]

Has she played any significant role in the current HC policy regarding E-cigs? Perhaps she could be a dissenting voice in that policy and may be of the opinion that E-cigs are beneficial.

Perhaps..

Unfortunately no agency does anything these days without gain for themselves. One that survives off government funding turning against government policy? We've found some strong dissension, what is the gain to them that trumps that, basic politics. That I don't know is what makes me uneasy.

Maybe we'll all get lucky and find out that HC's position isn't as strong as we all understood it to be.

 

[zer0ith]

Has she played any significant role in the current HC policy regarding E-cigs? Perhaps she could be a dissenting voice in that policy and may be of the opinion that E-cigs are beneficial.

Maybe she is a closet vaper

 

[Can_supplier]

I am blown away by the links cited.

"Under these acute testing conditions, neither of the electronic cigarettes exposed users to measurable levels of nicotine or CO, although both suppressed nicotine/tobacco abstinence symptom ratings."
A clinical laboratory model... [Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI

Findings suggest that e-cigarettes may hold promise as a smoking-cessation method and that they are worthy of further study using more-rigorous research designs.
Electronic cigarettes as a smoking-cessation: ... [Am J Prev Med. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

We conclude that electronic cigarettes show tremendous promise in the fight against tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. By dramatically expanding the potential for harm reduction strategies to achieve substantial health gains, they may fundamentally alter the tobacco harm reduction debate.
Electronic cigarettes as a harm reduc... [J Public Health Policy. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

Wow, wow, wow... Maybe I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth..

 

[Mindfield]

I am blown away by the links cited.

"Under these acute testing conditions, neither of the electronic cigarettes exposed users to measurable levels of nicotine or CO, although both suppressed nicotine/tobacco abstinence symptom ratings."
A clinical laboratory model... [Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI

Findings suggest that e-cigarettes may hold promise as a smoking-cessation method and that they are worthy of further study using more-rigorous research designs.
Electronic cigarettes as a smoking-cessation: ... [Am J Prev Med. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

We conclude that electronic cigarettes show tremendous promise in the fight against tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. By dramatically expanding the potential for harm reduction strategies to achieve substantial health gains, they may fundamentally alter the tobacco harm reduction debate.
Electronic cigarettes as a harm reduc... [J Public Health Policy. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

Wow, wow, wow... Maybe I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth..

Dare we hope that a non-profit government-appointed health technology research body that is separate from HC may actually be taking electronic cigarettes and their potential for significant harm reduction seriously? Could it possibly be that an official arm of our own government may be on the brink of discovering what we've known all along? And maybe ... maybe ... even be on the verge of rethiking their moratorium on electronic cigarettes in this country?

My whole wheat side laughs at such optimism, but my frosted side hopes that maybe the seed of truth has finally been planted and we may yet see it bear fruit.

 

[Switched]

Interesting. A government-appointed body not affiliated with HC studying E-cigs in Canada? Will wonders never cease.

My main concern however is still HC's insistence on classifying E-cigs as drug delivery devices, and this study does nothing to address that. It's a step in the right direction though, and hopefully its statement that this warrants further study will result in a larger, more comprehensive study that will yield positive results.

While folks blame HC, they do not make the laws. They are merely a police force for the government for the lack of better words, which receive their directives from the WHO, which carry a whole different set of ramifications for non compliance.

... and old saying don't bite the messenger, HC is merely a messenger.

 

[Switched]

Very very strange.. Never heard of these guys before, it a very weak paper in medical terms.

If you check their board of directors you will find:

Board of Directors | CADTH

Ms. Abby Hoffman
Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Policy Branch, Health Canada

Something is up with this, just not sure what. Maybe the new angle is because e-cigs are an effective smoking cessation product they should be regulated?? I can't see Hoffman shooting herself in the foot, right under her nose.

Something we should watch very closely.

The BOD is no different than several BODs in the States or the UK for that matter. The key players have representatives on these BODs to ensure fairplay

 

[Switched]

I am blown away by the links cited.

"Under these acute testing conditions, neither of the electronic cigarettes exposed users to measurable levels of nicotine or CO, although both suppressed nicotine/tobacco abstinence symptom ratings."
A clinical laboratory model... [Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI

Findings suggest that e-cigarettes may hold promise as a smoking-cessation method and that they are worthy of further study using more-rigorous research designs.
Electronic cigarettes as a smoking-cessation: ... [Am J Prev Med. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

We conclude that electronic cigarettes show tremendous promise in the fight against tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. By dramatically expanding the potential for harm reduction strategies to achieve substantial health gains, they may fundamentally alter the tobacco harm reduction debate.
Electronic cigarettes as a harm reduc... [J Public Health Policy. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

Wow, wow, wow... Maybe I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth..

Pretty much the same position taken by the nidge group in the UK

 

[dk2]

The big concern is the term "cessation" that they use in the article, this is the government's key term of use in regulation that also includes an open door to Pharma control. As vapors we want the terminology to be "replacement or long term alternative to combustible tobacco".