Today's Kenyan newspaper addresses the electronic cigarette -- and it's the most inaccurate to date. The article is at Africa Science News Service | Reporting about African Science with an African Eye - Kenyan medics warn against electronic cigars but the Web layout is so messed up that part of the text is blocked. I made a PDF and copied the text here:
In a quick response to the blitzkrieg marketing of electronic cigarettes, Kenyan doctors have been quick to warn on the dangers that are associated with the products.
"There is no evidence to prove that the cigarettes are safe and could be twice as more deadly as compared to the normal cigarettes," said the medic in a telephone interview. Dr. Edward Lusogo says that the electronic cigarette has a metal tube with a character which holds liquid nicotine in a rechargeable cartridge where smokers puff in on it ignorantly.
"The extras on the cigarettes such as metals increase the chances of cancer as compared to the regular commodities. The electronic gadget has the potential for one to evade the smoking bans but so far they are very few of those in Kenya," said the doctor during a separate interview.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned a few days ago on against using electronic cigarettes, saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit as it has been claimed. With the emergence of technology, Electronic cigarettes can easily be purchased easily through the internet but only by the elite who can afford, medics say.
The commodities are most common in countries such as Brazil, China, Canada and Israel, the WHO office in Nairobi said in an interview. The commodities have not yet been approved by any reliable regulatory body.
Dr. Abwao said that there are many more toxic compounds on the gadgets as compared to the normal cigarettes when inhaled in the lungs. The menace has not yet hit the country but the global increase in commodities with countries having poor mechanisms of checking for items at the port of entry, says the WHO.
"Toxicological tests as well as clinical trials have never been performed on the products," said Dr. Dominic Karanja, current chairman of the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya. He says that the Electronic Cigarette has never been shown to be a legitimate therapy like nicotine gum, patches or lozenges that help smokers quit their smoking addictions.
Without naming the manufacturers the WHO said that it was greatly concerned that some manufacturers had used the WHO name or logo on their package or website, falsely implying endorsement. The health agency headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, said that it was contacting health authorities in its 193 member states to alert them of "these bogus, untested false claims."
Turkey now becomes the first country to ban the products and sales, the WHO confirmed in its website. The WHO agency had become aware only this year of the spreading use of electronic cigarettes worldwide.
In a quick response to the blitzkrieg marketing of electronic cigarettes, Kenyan doctors have been quick to warn on the dangers that are associated with the products.
"There is no evidence to prove that the cigarettes are safe and could be twice as more deadly as compared to the normal cigarettes," said the medic in a telephone interview. Dr. Edward Lusogo says that the electronic cigarette has a metal tube with a character which holds liquid nicotine in a rechargeable cartridge where smokers puff in on it ignorantly.
"The extras on the cigarettes such as metals increase the chances of cancer as compared to the regular commodities. The electronic gadget has the potential for one to evade the smoking bans but so far they are very few of those in Kenya," said the doctor during a separate interview.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also warned a few days ago on against using electronic cigarettes, saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit as it has been claimed. With the emergence of technology, Electronic cigarettes can easily be purchased easily through the internet but only by the elite who can afford, medics say.
The commodities are most common in countries such as Brazil, China, Canada and Israel, the WHO office in Nairobi said in an interview. The commodities have not yet been approved by any reliable regulatory body.
Dr. Abwao said that there are many more toxic compounds on the gadgets as compared to the normal cigarettes when inhaled in the lungs. The menace has not yet hit the country but the global increase in commodities with countries having poor mechanisms of checking for items at the port of entry, says the WHO.
"Toxicological tests as well as clinical trials have never been performed on the products," said Dr. Dominic Karanja, current chairman of the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya. He says that the Electronic Cigarette has never been shown to be a legitimate therapy like nicotine gum, patches or lozenges that help smokers quit their smoking addictions.
Without naming the manufacturers the WHO said that it was greatly concerned that some manufacturers had used the WHO name or logo on their package or website, falsely implying endorsement. The health agency headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, said that it was contacting health authorities in its 193 member states to alert them of "these bogus, untested false claims."
Turkey now becomes the first country to ban the products and sales, the WHO confirmed in its website. The WHO agency had become aware only this year of the spreading use of electronic cigarettes worldwide.
sg also ban it 
