Received this email from FDA

[rothenbj]

I'm pretty sure "flavored" cigarettes are banned. This doesn't include "little cigars". They can't make for example a chocolate cigarette, however they can use chocolate in a cigarette. It has utility since raw tobacco is almost unpalatable, and you have to add things to mellow it out.

Cigarette Ingredients | Tobacco Ingredients

What they call flavored cigarettes are indeed banned, That translated to all cigarettes that were NOT part of BT's cigarette line. They were their competitor's products that really were a niche market. BT uses a lot of flavors in their smokes, that's what makes them taste different. A short list- Apple juice Concentrate, Extract, and Skins, Apricot Extract and juice Concentrate, Cocoa, Coconut Oil, Coffee, Grape Juice Concentrate, Kola Nut Extract, Maple Syrup and Concentrate, just to name a few.

That's what I meant by a "flavor" ban. Take away how they mix those flavors with the tobacco and all cigarettes would basically taste the same.

OT, while I was looking for the ingredient list, I ran into this comment, "Among the worst offenders are the nitrosamines. Strictly regulated by federal agencies, their concentrations in beer, bacon, and baby bottle nipples must not exceed 5 to 10 parts per billion. A typical person ingests about one microgram a day, while the smokers' intake tops this by 17 times for each pack of cigarette smoked."

What's In a Cigarette, 599 Ingredients in a Cigarette

Now how many nitrosamines were found in E liquid by the FDA? Baby bottle nipples?

One more statement from that link, "Electronic cigarettes are the best new option for smokers.
Click here to see what we found out."

Their page on E cigs ends up to pointing to Vapor Nine, but whatever.

 

[quovadis]

The FDA states that there is no scientific proof that ecigs are an effective way to stop smoking.
Then why arent we smoking?
What have they been smoking?

 

[MattZuke]

The FDA states that there is no scientific proof that ecigs are an effective way to stop smoking.
Then why arent we smoking?
What have they been smoking?

Well, to be fair, that's anecdotal evidence. You buy the e-... to stop smoking, you stop smoking. It's role in cessation requires further study, actual double blind studies, users with the e-... w/ nic, w/o nic, patched, gummed, and nothing.

The lack of smoking among users is an objective observation.
The role the e-... played in cessation requires critical review.

But with all this anecdotal evidence, you would THINK someone with a critical mind would think to review it damn it

 

[Secti0n31]

Hey ladies and germs. After reading this thread and sorting out the biased from the unbiased information; I decided to send the FDA my own e-mail. It goes a little something like this:


Dear FDA,



First of all, I would like to state that I'm very happy that you've accepted Personal Vaporizers (aka e-cigs) as tobacco products. I understand that "technically" they are indeed tobacco products because the nicotine used is derived from tobacco.

That said, I have been using a Personal Vaporizer for nearly 4 months and there is a marked improvement on my overall health, and I had not intended to quit using regular cigarettes at the time. The fact that I no longer use cigarettes or other tobacco products is because they are absolutely vile tasting now.

I understand that your limited research of the NJoy product line has shown some traces of substances that are found in standard tobacco cigarettes. I'd like to know exactly what these are, and what quantities you have found? How do these quantities match up to a traditional filtered cigarette? Have you sampled any other types or brands of nicotine liquid besides that which is imported from China? If not, there are plenty of US suppliers that would be happy to send you samples of their products.

My basic point is that the burden of proof is on you to establish that this product may be harmful or not. You have the resources to acquire all the samples that you need for testing, so please do so. There are several hundred studies that show nicotine alone (without the MAOI's in tobacco) to be very similar in effect to caffeine; mild stimulant, mildly physically addictive, increase in blood pressure and heart rate for aprox 20 minutes after use, and poisonous in pure form. The nicotine itself is not harming anyone.

My second point is that diethylene glycol and propelyne glycol are not dangerous to the lungs. Propelyne glycol has been used in long term inhaled medical applications for dozens of years, and "antifreeze" Diethylene Glycol is harmless without the other ingredients in the chemical; and in fact has been used to make antifreeze less dangerous for animals and wildlife that may encounter the substance.

Please do some research on these devices and then make your decision. If these products are truly dangerous there are literally millions of people who want to know, and if they are not, hundreds of millions DESERVE to know. I'll leave you with one final question, and say goodbye;

Is there any possibility in hell that these e-cigarettes are even remotely close to the danger level of a regular cigarette?


Thank you,

Jay (insert last name here)





Enjoy!

 

[haft2doit]

I like the message secti0n31. How quickly it will be read by an intern and thrown in the trash I don't know. You will probably get a standard reply that means nothing. It might have made you feel better though.

 

[haft2doit]

Does their regulation only cover the nicotine e juice? Or would they add taxes and oversight to extracted nicotine fo lab study. I have bought concentrated nicotine and made my own juice. From what I understand this was just from a chemical company that had no ties to e cigs. If I can still do that I will be ok with this.

 

[Thulium]

One minor correction, section31: Diethylene Glycol is actually a very toxic antifreeze, but Propylene Glycol is frequently used instead to avoid toxicity. The amount of DEG found in the Smoking Everywhere '555' cartridge was "about 1%" and the FDA did not detect it (or any other toxins or carcinogens) in the actual vapor.

At the levels found in the one cartridge, a person would have to ingest about 3 liters of DEG contaminated e-liquid to receive a fatal dose. (If you ingest 3 liters of e-liquid, DEG poisoning would be the least of your worries) The most likely explanation for "about 1%" of any contaminant is that the manufacturer did not use USP (pharmaceutical) grade propylene glycol, but since DEG is sometimes used as a humectant to keep tobacco moist, it could have come from one of the flavoring components.

 

[Secti0n31]

One minor correction, section31: Diethylene Glycol is actually a very toxic antifreeze, but Propylene Glycol is frequently used instead to avoid toxicity. The amount of DEG found in the Smoking Everywhere '555' cartridge was "about 1%" and the FDA did not detect it (or any other toxins or carcinogens) in the actual vapor.

At the levels found in the one cartridge, a person would have to ingest about 3 liters of DEG contaminated e-liquid to receive a fatal dose. (If you ingest 3 liters of e-liquid, DEG poisoning would be the least of your worries) The most likely explanation for "about 1%" of any contaminant is that the manufacturer did not use USP (pharmaceutical) grade propylene glycol, but since DEG is sometimes used as a humectant to keep tobacco moist, it could have come from one of the flavoring components.

Touche' and yeah it was trashed, and I got sent back a link to their only page on e-cigs, which contained every piece of info I (almost) mythbusted. Oh well. I tried.