Close, but no cigarette
* Stephen Cauchi
* March 7, 2009
Katie Armitage, 39, who finally quit smoking a year ago. She thinks it's unlikely the e-cigarette would have helped her break her addiction.
Katie Armitage, 39, who finally quit smoking a year ago. She thinks it's unlikely the e-cigarette would have helped her break her addiction. Photo: Rebecca Hallas
IT LOOKS like a cigarette, is dragged on like a cigarette, and gives a nicotine hit like a cigarette. But it's not a cigarette. It's an e-cigarette a battery-powered electronic device containing a microprocessor, heater, and a cartridge containing liquid nicotine that produces a puff of nicotine vapour (not smoke). It even has a light on the end of the stick that glows when the user draws back on it.
But why smoke a fake cigarette? Manufacturers of e-cigarettes claim that they deliver the nicotine hit without the associated chemical agents in tobacco smoke that can cause cancer. And, because they produce no smoke, they can be used in restaurants, aeroplanes, at work wherever smoking is banned.
Since they were invented in China in 2004 by electronics company Ruyan, e-cigarettes have been lighting up across the world Britain, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Israel, Turkey and numerous other countries.
In some countries, they are only allowed as medical devices. But not in Australia, where they are banned outright.
Victoria, the last Australian state to ban the nicotine cartridges, did so in January. Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon told reporters that e-cigarettes were an "insidious, manipulative attempt to hook people on smoking". The ban followed a decision last October by the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee, part of the Federal Government's Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Put simply, the TGA refused to classify e-cigarettes as an approved nicotine replacement therapy, like nicotine patches, gums or inhalers, partly because no peer-reviewed scientific study has been done on their ability to wean users off smoking. So, regardless of their potential appeal to the one in four men and one in five women in Australia who smoke, they were outlawed.
But businessman Albert Nisman, who holds the Australian distribution rights for e-cigarettes under the brand name Egar, isn't taking no for an answer. He says he is planning a new submission to the TGA, and is "pretty confident" his product will get approval.
Nisman says the ruling that banned e-cigarettes taking them off the shelves in Victoria after they had been on sale for about 12 months was unfair for two reasons. First, he says, e-cigarettes remain a healthier alternative than cigarettes. "We're not mixing anything else into it, tar or anything else. Smoke is the killer, the burning of toxic chemicals. We're not burning anything, we're vaporising."
Second, according to Nisman, many of the 10,000 Victorians who bought Egars in the year they were available for sale found the devices a useful way of weaning themselves off tobacco. A starter kit costs $75.
Nisman claimed that "95 per cent of our customers who purchased Egars before the ban quit (smoking) within a month or two".
"I think it's really unfair (but) we are not legally able to make a claim that it helps you quit smoking. Putting the legalities to one side, obviously a lot of people have quit smoking," he said.
One of the reasons they were an effective quitting device, he said, was that they mimicked the oral sensation of smoking, plus delivered a fast nicotine hit. In fact, some users continued to use the Egar with a non-nicotine cartridge, coupled with a patch, in an effort to quit. "The action is the thing that they're addicted to."
But what of claims that e-cigarettes can widen the appeal of nicotine by appealing to users who would otherwise not smoke cigarettes? Despite a website (egar.com.au) that features pictures of young women, Nisman rejected this.
"We're not marketing it to kids, children or non-smokers. Our target market is explicitly smokers. We're not putting it out there to be trendy or anything else."
Several submissions critical of the devices were made to the TGA when it was considering its ruling. The claim that e-cigarettes actually widen the appeal of nicotine was a key concern, as was the fast delivery of nicotine. And while the devices claim to be free of tobacco carcinogens, there are other chemicals involved besides pure nicotine, such as acetaldehyde.
That appears to be the main concern of the TGA. In its ruling it said that "all chemicals and ingredients contained in these products have not been established Even though the claim was made that the product is free from carcinogens, the chemical agents remaining in the device have not been through any rigorous testing to prove their 'not detrimental' status. Given the potential toxicity, risks and hazards associated with the electronic cigarette, and the lack of substantial evidence of safety or therapeutic benefit, until these prerequisites are met the product should not be allowed on the Australian market."
VicHealth chief executive officer Todd Harper agreed that they should be banned. "If they're so confident about the product, why haven't they subjected it to the same level of testing that other nicotine replacement products have been subjected to?" he said. "Until this product can meet those standards, I don't think it should be marketed as a healthy alternative to smoking."
Nisman said his new submission would include a private study by research company Health New Zealand, which he said had found that e-cigarettes were no more dangerous than nicotine patches. Although funded by e-cigarette manufacturer Ruyan, Health New Zealand said the results were independent. However, they are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
According to the World Health Organisation, thorough clinical studies must be conducted before manufacturers can claim the devices are a legitimate aid in helping smokers to quit. "WHO does not discount the possibility that the electronic cigarette could be useful as a smoking cessation aid," it said last September. "The only way to know is to test it."
Close, but no cigarette | watoday.com.au
* Stephen Cauchi
* March 7, 2009
Katie Armitage, 39, who finally quit smoking a year ago. She thinks it's unlikely the e-cigarette would have helped her break her addiction.
Katie Armitage, 39, who finally quit smoking a year ago. She thinks it's unlikely the e-cigarette would have helped her break her addiction. Photo: Rebecca Hallas
IT LOOKS like a cigarette, is dragged on like a cigarette, and gives a nicotine hit like a cigarette. But it's not a cigarette. It's an e-cigarette a battery-powered electronic device containing a microprocessor, heater, and a cartridge containing liquid nicotine that produces a puff of nicotine vapour (not smoke). It even has a light on the end of the stick that glows when the user draws back on it.
But why smoke a fake cigarette? Manufacturers of e-cigarettes claim that they deliver the nicotine hit without the associated chemical agents in tobacco smoke that can cause cancer. And, because they produce no smoke, they can be used in restaurants, aeroplanes, at work wherever smoking is banned.
Since they were invented in China in 2004 by electronics company Ruyan, e-cigarettes have been lighting up across the world Britain, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Israel, Turkey and numerous other countries.
In some countries, they are only allowed as medical devices. But not in Australia, where they are banned outright.
Victoria, the last Australian state to ban the nicotine cartridges, did so in January. Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon told reporters that e-cigarettes were an "insidious, manipulative attempt to hook people on smoking". The ban followed a decision last October by the National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee, part of the Federal Government's Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Put simply, the TGA refused to classify e-cigarettes as an approved nicotine replacement therapy, like nicotine patches, gums or inhalers, partly because no peer-reviewed scientific study has been done on their ability to wean users off smoking. So, regardless of their potential appeal to the one in four men and one in five women in Australia who smoke, they were outlawed.
But businessman Albert Nisman, who holds the Australian distribution rights for e-cigarettes under the brand name Egar, isn't taking no for an answer. He says he is planning a new submission to the TGA, and is "pretty confident" his product will get approval.
Nisman says the ruling that banned e-cigarettes taking them off the shelves in Victoria after they had been on sale for about 12 months was unfair for two reasons. First, he says, e-cigarettes remain a healthier alternative than cigarettes. "We're not mixing anything else into it, tar or anything else. Smoke is the killer, the burning of toxic chemicals. We're not burning anything, we're vaporising."
Second, according to Nisman, many of the 10,000 Victorians who bought Egars in the year they were available for sale found the devices a useful way of weaning themselves off tobacco. A starter kit costs $75.
Nisman claimed that "95 per cent of our customers who purchased Egars before the ban quit (smoking) within a month or two".
"I think it's really unfair (but) we are not legally able to make a claim that it helps you quit smoking. Putting the legalities to one side, obviously a lot of people have quit smoking," he said.
One of the reasons they were an effective quitting device, he said, was that they mimicked the oral sensation of smoking, plus delivered a fast nicotine hit. In fact, some users continued to use the Egar with a non-nicotine cartridge, coupled with a patch, in an effort to quit. "The action is the thing that they're addicted to."
But what of claims that e-cigarettes can widen the appeal of nicotine by appealing to users who would otherwise not smoke cigarettes? Despite a website (egar.com.au) that features pictures of young women, Nisman rejected this.
"We're not marketing it to kids, children or non-smokers. Our target market is explicitly smokers. We're not putting it out there to be trendy or anything else."
Several submissions critical of the devices were made to the TGA when it was considering its ruling. The claim that e-cigarettes actually widen the appeal of nicotine was a key concern, as was the fast delivery of nicotine. And while the devices claim to be free of tobacco carcinogens, there are other chemicals involved besides pure nicotine, such as acetaldehyde.
That appears to be the main concern of the TGA. In its ruling it said that "all chemicals and ingredients contained in these products have not been established Even though the claim was made that the product is free from carcinogens, the chemical agents remaining in the device have not been through any rigorous testing to prove their 'not detrimental' status. Given the potential toxicity, risks and hazards associated with the electronic cigarette, and the lack of substantial evidence of safety or therapeutic benefit, until these prerequisites are met the product should not be allowed on the Australian market."
VicHealth chief executive officer Todd Harper agreed that they should be banned. "If they're so confident about the product, why haven't they subjected it to the same level of testing that other nicotine replacement products have been subjected to?" he said. "Until this product can meet those standards, I don't think it should be marketed as a healthy alternative to smoking."
Nisman said his new submission would include a private study by research company Health New Zealand, which he said had found that e-cigarettes were no more dangerous than nicotine patches. Although funded by e-cigarette manufacturer Ruyan, Health New Zealand said the results were independent. However, they are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
According to the World Health Organisation, thorough clinical studies must be conducted before manufacturers can claim the devices are a legitimate aid in helping smokers to quit. "WHO does not discount the possibility that the electronic cigarette could be useful as a smoking cessation aid," it said last September. "The only way to know is to test it."
Close, but no cigarette | watoday.com.au
