I meant to do this months ago, years ago really when my evaluation of the FDA's Technical report on the safety of e-cigarettes was first used without my consent as some kind of propoganda/advertising and touted as a health risk evaluation to validate the safety of e-juice and e-cigarettes. First let me say that it was not such nor ever meant to be used in such a manner. In fact it was legally never supposed to be used in that manner. Never the less it was used as such. While I found a lot of faults with the scientific methods and conslusions reached by the FDA concerning the specifics of what the report was addressing, my evaluation in no way was meant to imply that overall e-cigs are safe. Why? The testing has not been done to prove they are safe. At the time I consulted for the industry I advised that they carry out the same tests that the traditional cigarette industry did when formulating their products and mixtures, which was to do toxicity studies in animal models. I advised using the various e-juices both in mixtures and flavorants on their own (single flavorants) in the carrier media. Until this is done and the studies come back showing that these products are safe there is much to be concerned about regarding the saftey of many of the approved GRAS flavorants which are approved for ingestion but may not be approved for inhalation. Case in point; are many cases of flavorant-induced lung diseases showing up in factory workers who have worked with and inhaled flavorants that have been used and are used in e-cigs.
I do believe that these toxicity studies will be done and will be demanded by either consumers or regulatory agencies. I hope that they are being done but have not seen such published of late. Of course I may be wrong so please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I just wanted to post this and hope that it does reach consumers who may have felt that my technical evaluation was a safety endorsement for these products so that consumers could take a logical and educated approach to their consumption fo these products. I do feel that there is a great place for e-cigs as an alternative to traditonal smoking but let's make sure we are not doing more harm than good first and thoroughly investigate the safety of these products in animals before we use ourselves as the proverbial guinnea pigs.
I do believe that these toxicity studies will be done and will be demanded by either consumers or regulatory agencies. I hope that they are being done but have not seen such published of late. Of course I may be wrong so please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I just wanted to post this and hope that it does reach consumers who may have felt that my technical evaluation was a safety endorsement for these products so that consumers could take a logical and educated approach to their consumption fo these products. I do feel that there is a great place for e-cigs as an alternative to traditonal smoking but let's make sure we are not doing more harm than good first and thoroughly investigate the safety of these products in animals before we use ourselves as the proverbial guinnea pigs.
