Random thoughts:
These products are marketed and sold to young people1 and are readily available online and in shopping malls. [...snip...] They are also available in different flavors, such as chocolate and mint, which may appeal to young people.2
(emphasis added)
1) Huh? Where?! Ludicrous and inflammatory misrepresentation. As previously stated in the thread, this is probably the "labeling 'Adults Only' is marketing to kids" twisted-as-hell logic.
2) So? I can buy grape cigars at any convenience store. (Yuck, btw...I can't express how disgusting that sounds to me)
As for the stated and unstated ingredients...I don't think that there any real surprises there. I don't think anyone can reasonably expect that inhaling chemicals is purely safe under any circumstances. Then again, air itself isn't 100% safe, so when does a breathing ban go into place?
I do, however, like the idea of knowing what's going on with what I inhale, for the most part. So I'm starting to get much more serious about making my own juice. I'm reasonably sure that the USP grade glycerin I buy is, in fact USP grade glycerin. As well, I'm reasonably confident that the same is true of my USP grade propylene glycol.
Stopping right there, with an ingredient list of VG and PG, and perhaps PG of VG-based candy flavoring (Loranns, e.g.), I'm VERY confident of a *reasonably* safe alternative to smoking manufactured and heavily processed combustible tobacco products (cigs), and just as confident that, regardless of what level of risk, that I am STILL dealing with something far, far safer than analogs.
Also at this stage, I STRONGLY argue the FDAs jurisdiction over PVs and their determination that the PV is and can only ever be a drug delivery system. I'll head into the obvious observation of "water pipes" and hookahs. Realistically recognizing that the majority of use for these products is illegal, it has been shown to be difficult or impossible to ban manufacture and sales of these items based on popular use. The popular use of PVs to deliver vaporized nicotine has no bearing on the also common use of delivering flavor with ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES WHATEVER. Full stop. Any further legal argument MUST end here, really, and any further legal arguments should heavily leverage this.
If I now add in nicotine suspension, I do add in higher risk and uncertainty, granted. I also fall into dealing with a controlled substance. I have no way to pick-and-choose who I get my nic from, so I'm a little bit ostrich here, and avoid asking for details. I make the assumption that it's
as safe as is reasonably possible, and leave it at that. I also agree that this is where the FDA can and
does have jurisdiction and responsibility for oversight.
I'm really getting aggravated over so much of this. I've been smoking 2.5+ packs a day for 30 years. I'm disgusted, disgusted, disgusted by almost every aspect of my smoking habit. I've quit and restarted more times than I can count. The patch, gum, etc., are not, in my opinion, quitting aids any more than eCigs; in fact, I think that they are far inferior. Note that I'm not talking about quitting
nicotine, but smoking (although with proper tapering of nicotine concentrations, I think I have reasonable expectations about killing the nic addiction, as well). The eCig is superior in smoking cessation in that it also addresses the ancillary addictions...oral fixation, manual fixation (hands gotta be doing something), tactile addiction (throat/lung hit), social addiction, ritualism.
Okay, 'nuff said on my part, for the moment. Had more to say, ranted too long and forgot what it was. I'm sure most everyone here understands what I'm trying to say
Doc
