The editorial “E-cigarettes need FDA regulation” (July 19) is based on obfuscation. The FDA found diethylene glycol in one Smoking Everywhere cartridge--in a quantity thousands of times below the Minimal Risk Level. In a few other samples from
njoy, the FDA found
tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines equivalent to the amount in an FDA-approved nicotine patch.
Could the FDA’s alarmist exaggerations be connected to the fact that the only two companies whose products were tested had sued the agency in Federal court? Wanting to win the suit gives the FDA a good reason to put a negative spin job on excellent results: The FDA’s testing indicated that electronic cigarettes are thousands of times less toxic and carcinogenic than
tobacco cigarette smoke,
Nevertheless, the AMA focused on the FDA’s propaganda, not on the actual results. Furthermore, the AMA Council on Science and Public Health recommended that the AMA reverse a resolution that would have supported research into the effectiveness of the products as smoking cessation aids.
Several surveys show that anywhere from 63% to 79% of e-cigarette consumers have achieved smoking abstinence by switching to inhaling vapor. That’s an astonishing success rate when compared with the collective success rate of—at best—10% for the FDA-approved smoking-cessation products.
And despite their unregulated state, e-cigarettes have failed to cause any serious harm in the 2 years they have been in use in the U.S. In fact, the opposite is true. Over 90% of users report improvements in their health. The track record indicates that these products can save millions of lives.
If the FDA is so concerned about consumer safety, why waste time waiting for the outcome of the law suit? Every FDA concern can be addressed immediately by regulating e-cigarettes under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
