www.[B]koreatimes[/B].co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/01/117_79292.html
Writer's email is: e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr Could CASAA send him an information packet please (or let me know what you normally would send and I can send it).
Safety of e-cigarettes questioned
Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes enjoy popularity here as a trendy and perhaps healthier alternative. / Korea Times By Kim Tae-jong
Quitting smoking is one of the most common New Years resolutions and many smokers are always in search of an effective way to help kick the habit of lighting up for good.
Amid the flood of substitutes for tobacco cigarettes, electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are drawing popularity here as a trendy and perhaps healthier alternative. Yet their safety and effectiveness remain unclear and controversial.
While there are different types of e-cigarettes, the most common type takes the form of a tiny rod that is slightly longer than a normal cigarette and uses battery-generated heat to vaporize nicotine along with other chemicals present in a cartridge.
E-cigarettes are selling like hot cakes, with the combined sales growing threefold in 2010 from a year earlier.
Ive tried many times to quit smoking, but its hard to kick the habit with only my willpower, said Kwon Young-jin, a 35-year-old office worker. I started smoking e-cigarettes recently and hope it will help this time.
The surge in demand has consequently puffed up the market and e-cigarette companies are competing to run ads for their products, boasting that they are much safer than traditional tobacco.
Prices of e-cigarette devices range from 100,000 won ($120) to 150,000 won, with smokers having to spend extra money for nicotine cartridges or non-nicotine vaporized solution on a regular basis.
Our product provides the sensation similar to smoking without the strong odor of cigarette smoke and ashes, and most importantly, its not harmful to smokers and the people around them, one Internet advertisement reads.
But many anti-smoking organizations point out that such ads contain false or unproven information, warning that their health effects have yet to be examined or determined properly.
All the commercials are misleading people to believe that they are really an effective substitute, which is not true, said Choi Chang-mok, head of non-governmental group the Korea Anti-smoke Research Institute. The reality is e-cigarettes are nothing but harmful electronic cigarettes and may contain unknown toxic chemicals and can lead people to form another addiction.
He also warned that various side effects have been reported such as headaches, nausea and loss of appetite from those who used e-cigarettes.
Regulations on e-cigarettes
The main problem surrounding the debate over the safety of e-cigarettes is the lack of proper regulations. The related ministries have belatedly reached a decision on the categorization of e-cigarettes e-cigarettes are classified into two main types: one with nicotine and the other with non-nicotine vaporized solution.
We have concluded that those with nicotine should be regarded as conventional cigarettes as they are also addictive and harmful to the body, said Lee Seon-kui, a deputy director at the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Now were trying to keep up with the latest device by implementing necessary regulations and taxation.
E-cigarette products without nicotine are regulated by the Korea Food and Drug Administration as a cessation aid, while the e-cigarette product with nicotine is regulated by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance just like traditional cigarettes.
While the related ministries were dragging their feet on the classification of e-cigarettes, a lot of unlicensed companies took advantage of the delay and imported products and sold them online even to teenagers. All the damage from the low-quality or the lack of follow-up services has fallen on customers and proper compensation for faulty products were difficult to get.
Experts take a skeptical stance on the safety or effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a stop-smoking aid, regardless whether they are licensed products or not.
I think the bottom line is, we just dont know whether they are effective or safe, and we dont know because there is no research done to prove it while there are a range of different products already out on the market, said Lim Min-kyung, head of the Cancer Information Center, which operates a call center for smokers.
I cant say smokers should or shouldnt buy e-cigarettes but Id rather say they should be more careful at least for now.
Writer's email is: e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr Could CASAA send him an information packet please (or let me know what you normally would send and I can send it).
