[h=3]Info from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_cigarette#Health_concerns because I know many of us won't click it.
World Health Organization[/h]The World Health Organization stated in September 2008 that no rigorous, peer-reviewed studies have been conducted showing that the electronic cigarette is a safe and effective nicotine replacement therapy. WHO does not discount the possibility that the electronic cigarette could be useful as a smoking cessation aid, but insisted that claims that electronic cigarettes can help smokers quit need to be backed up by clinical studies and toxicity analyses and operate within the proper regulatory framework.
[h=3]Food and Drug Administration[/h]The Electronic Cigarette Association criticized that the FDA testing was too "narrow to reach any valid and reliable conclusions.[19] Exponent, Inc., commissioned by njoy to review the FDA's study in July 2009, objected to the FDA analysis of electronic cigarettes lacking comparisons to other FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy products where similar levels of TSNA were detected. Exponent concluded that the FDA's study did not support the claims of potential adverse health effects from the use of electronic cigarettes.
Furthermore, FDA methods "have been lambasted in journals" by some medical and health research experts who noted the potentially harmful chemicals were measured at "about one million times lower concentrations than are conceivably related to human health.
[h=3]American Association of Public Health Physicians[/h]
As of April 2010, The American Association of Public Health Physicians (AAPHP) supports electronic cigarettes sales to adults, "because the possibility exists to save the lives of four million of the eight million current adult American smokers who will otherwise die of a tobacco-related illness over the next twenty years." However, the AAPHP is against sales to minors. The AAPHP recommends that the FDA reclassify the electronic cigarette as a tobacco product (as opposed to a drug/device combination).
[h=3]Boston University School of Public Health study[/h]A study by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health in 2010 concluded that electronic cigarettes were safer than real cigarettes and may aid in breaking the habit of smoking. Researchers said that while further studies on electronic cigarettes were needed, "few, if any, chemicals at levels detected in electronic cigarettes raise serious health concerns." Electronic cigarettes were found to be "much safer" than traditional tobacco ones, and had a level of toxicity similar to existing nicotine replacements.
In the report, the level of carcinogens in electronic cigarettes was found to be up to 1,000 times lower than regular cigarettes. It also said early evidence shows that electronic cigarettes may help people to stop smoking by simulating a tobacco cigarette.
[h=3]Health Canada[/h]On 27 March 2009, Health Canada issued an advisory against electronic cigarettes. The advisory stated "Although these electronic smoking products may be marketed as a safer alternative to conventional tobacco products and, in some cases, as an aid to quitting smoking, electronic smoking products may pose risks such as nicotine poisoning and addiction."
[h=3]Health New Zealand[/h]In 2008, Dr. Murray Laugesen of Health New Zealand Ltd, published a report on the safety of Ruyan electronic cigarette cartridges funded by e-cigarette manufacturer, Ruyan; Laugesen and the WHO claim that the research is independent. The presence of trace amounts of TSNAs in the cartridge solution was documented in the analysis. The results also indicated that the level of nicotine in the electronic cigarette cartridges was not different from the concentration of nicotine found in nicotine patches. John Britton, a lung specialist at the University of Nottingham, UK and chair of the Royal College of Physicians Tobacco Advisory Group said if the levels are as low as in nicotine replacement therapy, I dont think there will be much of a problem. The study's detailed quantitative analysis concluded that carcinogens and toxicants are present only below harmful levels. It concluded: "Based on the manufacturers information, the composition of the cartridge liquid is not hazardous to health, if used as intended."
[h=3]Other reports[/h]According to Cancer Research UK, "For a smoker, the health hazards of continuing to smoke greatly outweigh any potential risks of using nicotine replacement therapy".
A recent Greek study found that e-cigarettes are no threat to the heart. Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos from the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens told the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology that "Electronic cigarettes are not a healthy habit but they are a safer alternative to tobacco cigarettes,"."Considering the extreme hazards associated with cigarette smoking, currently available data suggest that electronic cigarettes are far less harmful and substituting tobacco with electronic cigarettes may be beneficial to health." Farsalinos and his team examined the heart function of 20 young smokers before and after smoking one tobacco cigarette against that of 22 e-cigarette users before and after using the device for seven minutes. While the tobacco smokers suffered significant heart dysfunction, including raised blood pressure and heart rate, those using e-cigarettes had only a slight elevation in pressure. The Greek clinical study was the first in the world to look at the cardiac effects of e-cigarettes. Another small study, also in Greece, reported earlier this year the devices had little impact on lung function.
A report from a UK Government advisory unit favoured the adoption of "smokeless nicotine cigarettes" over the traditional "quit or die" approach believing this would save more lives.
While electronic cigarettes are purported to deliver nicotine to the user in a manner similar to that of a nicotine inhaler, no electronic cigarette has yet been approved as a medicinal nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) product or provided the necessary clinical testing for such approval. Doubts have also been raised as to whether electronic cigarettes actually deliver any substantial amount of nicotine at all.
Research carried out at the University of East London on the effects of the use of an electronic cigarette to reduce cravings in regular tobacco smokers showed that there was no significant reported difference between smokers who inhaled vapour containing nicotine, and those who inhaled vapour containing no nicotine. The report concluded that although electronic cigarettes can be effective in reducing nicotine-related withdrawal symptoms, the nicotine content does not appear to be of central importance, and that other smoking related cues (such as taste, vapour resembling smoke) may account for the reduction in discomfort associated with tobacco abstinence in the short term.
Though manufacturers have marketed electronic cigarettes as an alternative to smoking cigarettes, the World Health Organization has stated they know of no evidence confirming these claims.
In an online survey from November 2009 among 303 smokers, it was found that e-cigarette substitution for tobacco cigarettes resulted in reduced perceived health problems, when compared to smoking conventional cigarettes (less cough, improved ability to exercise, improved sense of taste and smell).
Trace elements of 'volatile organic compounds', namely formaldehyde, as well as trace elements of ketones, mercury and tetramethylpyrazine have been found in electronic cigarette vapour, however the quantities are significantly smaller than the quantities found in tobacco smoke and do not pose a significant health risk.
Domtine's conclusion in layman terms: Tobacco cigarettes remain as the only legally sold product that harms the user even when used as directed. Vaping on the other hand has not killed anyone since it was available to mass market in 2004.
World Health Organization[/h]The World Health Organization stated in September 2008 that no rigorous, peer-reviewed studies have been conducted showing that the electronic cigarette is a safe and effective nicotine replacement therapy. WHO does not discount the possibility that the electronic cigarette could be useful as a smoking cessation aid, but insisted that claims that electronic cigarettes can help smokers quit need to be backed up by clinical studies and toxicity analyses and operate within the proper regulatory framework.
[h=3]Food and Drug Administration[/h]The Electronic Cigarette Association criticized that the FDA testing was too "narrow to reach any valid and reliable conclusions.[19] Exponent, Inc., commissioned by njoy to review the FDA's study in July 2009, objected to the FDA analysis of electronic cigarettes lacking comparisons to other FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy products where similar levels of TSNA were detected. Exponent concluded that the FDA's study did not support the claims of potential adverse health effects from the use of electronic cigarettes.
Furthermore, FDA methods "have been lambasted in journals" by some medical and health research experts who noted the potentially harmful chemicals were measured at "about one million times lower concentrations than are conceivably related to human health.
[h=3]American Association of Public Health Physicians[/h]
As of April 2010, The American Association of Public Health Physicians (AAPHP) supports electronic cigarettes sales to adults, "because the possibility exists to save the lives of four million of the eight million current adult American smokers who will otherwise die of a tobacco-related illness over the next twenty years." However, the AAPHP is against sales to minors. The AAPHP recommends that the FDA reclassify the electronic cigarette as a tobacco product (as opposed to a drug/device combination).
[h=3]Boston University School of Public Health study[/h]A study by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health in 2010 concluded that electronic cigarettes were safer than real cigarettes and may aid in breaking the habit of smoking. Researchers said that while further studies on electronic cigarettes were needed, "few, if any, chemicals at levels detected in electronic cigarettes raise serious health concerns." Electronic cigarettes were found to be "much safer" than traditional tobacco ones, and had a level of toxicity similar to existing nicotine replacements.
In the report, the level of carcinogens in electronic cigarettes was found to be up to 1,000 times lower than regular cigarettes. It also said early evidence shows that electronic cigarettes may help people to stop smoking by simulating a tobacco cigarette.
[h=3]Health Canada[/h]On 27 March 2009, Health Canada issued an advisory against electronic cigarettes. The advisory stated "Although these electronic smoking products may be marketed as a safer alternative to conventional tobacco products and, in some cases, as an aid to quitting smoking, electronic smoking products may pose risks such as nicotine poisoning and addiction."
[h=3]Health New Zealand[/h]In 2008, Dr. Murray Laugesen of Health New Zealand Ltd, published a report on the safety of Ruyan electronic cigarette cartridges funded by e-cigarette manufacturer, Ruyan; Laugesen and the WHO claim that the research is independent. The presence of trace amounts of TSNAs in the cartridge solution was documented in the analysis. The results also indicated that the level of nicotine in the electronic cigarette cartridges was not different from the concentration of nicotine found in nicotine patches. John Britton, a lung specialist at the University of Nottingham, UK and chair of the Royal College of Physicians Tobacco Advisory Group said if the levels are as low as in nicotine replacement therapy, I dont think there will be much of a problem. The study's detailed quantitative analysis concluded that carcinogens and toxicants are present only below harmful levels. It concluded: "Based on the manufacturers information, the composition of the cartridge liquid is not hazardous to health, if used as intended."
[h=3]Other reports[/h]According to Cancer Research UK, "For a smoker, the health hazards of continuing to smoke greatly outweigh any potential risks of using nicotine replacement therapy".
A recent Greek study found that e-cigarettes are no threat to the heart. Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos from the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens told the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology that "Electronic cigarettes are not a healthy habit but they are a safer alternative to tobacco cigarettes,"."Considering the extreme hazards associated with cigarette smoking, currently available data suggest that electronic cigarettes are far less harmful and substituting tobacco with electronic cigarettes may be beneficial to health." Farsalinos and his team examined the heart function of 20 young smokers before and after smoking one tobacco cigarette against that of 22 e-cigarette users before and after using the device for seven minutes. While the tobacco smokers suffered significant heart dysfunction, including raised blood pressure and heart rate, those using e-cigarettes had only a slight elevation in pressure. The Greek clinical study was the first in the world to look at the cardiac effects of e-cigarettes. Another small study, also in Greece, reported earlier this year the devices had little impact on lung function.
A report from a UK Government advisory unit favoured the adoption of "smokeless nicotine cigarettes" over the traditional "quit or die" approach believing this would save more lives.
While electronic cigarettes are purported to deliver nicotine to the user in a manner similar to that of a nicotine inhaler, no electronic cigarette has yet been approved as a medicinal nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) product or provided the necessary clinical testing for such approval. Doubts have also been raised as to whether electronic cigarettes actually deliver any substantial amount of nicotine at all.
Research carried out at the University of East London on the effects of the use of an electronic cigarette to reduce cravings in regular tobacco smokers showed that there was no significant reported difference between smokers who inhaled vapour containing nicotine, and those who inhaled vapour containing no nicotine. The report concluded that although electronic cigarettes can be effective in reducing nicotine-related withdrawal symptoms, the nicotine content does not appear to be of central importance, and that other smoking related cues (such as taste, vapour resembling smoke) may account for the reduction in discomfort associated with tobacco abstinence in the short term.
Though manufacturers have marketed electronic cigarettes as an alternative to smoking cigarettes, the World Health Organization has stated they know of no evidence confirming these claims.
In an online survey from November 2009 among 303 smokers, it was found that e-cigarette substitution for tobacco cigarettes resulted in reduced perceived health problems, when compared to smoking conventional cigarettes (less cough, improved ability to exercise, improved sense of taste and smell).
Trace elements of 'volatile organic compounds', namely formaldehyde, as well as trace elements of ketones, mercury and tetramethylpyrazine have been found in electronic cigarette vapour, however the quantities are significantly smaller than the quantities found in tobacco smoke and do not pose a significant health risk.
Domtine's conclusion in layman terms: Tobacco cigarettes remain as the only legally sold product that harms the user even when used as directed. Vaping on the other hand has not killed anyone since it was available to mass market in 2004.
