Electronic cigarettes a hot trend | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal
Highlights
The FDA reports that it is “looking into this.” And it is getting encouragement to look thoroughly and decisively. Two months ago David Gifford, the state’s health director, wrote the FDA asking it to regulate e cigs because of their nicotine content.
“We don’t support e cigarettes,” said Annemarie Beardsworth, spokeswoman for the Rhode Island Department of Health. “Nicotine is an addictive substance.” Any product promoting withdrawal from nicotine, she maintained , should be FDA-approved. “E cigarettes are not a regulated product. There is no identification required to purchase them. With tobacco you need to be 18.”
More needs to be known about e cigarettes, according to Jim Beardsworth, communications director for the Warwick-based Southern New England Region of the American Cancer Society. “There is not a lot of data out there. There have not been clinical trials on this product. I do think it’s something that deserves tremendous caution.”