Monthly Archives: July 2012

Dr. Whelan and Dr. Ross ask the FDA to reconsider e-cigarettes

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Came across this letter on The American Council on Science and Health website which was also published on the Electronic Cigarette Forum Although directed at the FDA in America, I feel that the points raised are equally applicable both here in Ireland and elsewhere. See end of letter for some serious credentials of the people heading up ACSH!

LETTER
Publication Date: May 29, 2012
To: Center for Tobacco Products,
Food and Drug Administration

From: The American Council on Science and Health
Elizabeth M. Whelan, President
Gilbert Ross, Executive Director and Medical Director

Re: Electronic cigarettes

The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), a consumer education and advocacy nonprofit devoted throughout our 34-year history to the promotion of sound science in public health policy, urges the FDA to reconsider their current, hyper-precautionary position on electronic cigarettes. The truth is, e-cigarettes have the potential to help the 20 percent of Americans who remain addicted to smoking.

The FDA website states that “e-cigarettes may contain ingredients that are known to be toxic to humans, and may contain ingredients that may not be safe.” Our question, however, is: safe compared to what? Those smokers who turn to e-cigarettes are already deeply addicted to smoking tobacco cigarettes. Ideally, e-cigarettes ease the transition from smoking to being tobacco- and nicotine-free. However, even former smokers who substitute e-cigarettes for their tobacco cigarettes make a choice that is far more beneficial to their health than continuing to smoke. While the FDA cautions that e-cigarettes may contain ingredients that are unsafe, we point out that tobacco cigarettes undeniably contain ingredients that are not safe. For someone who is strongly addicted to nicotine, that difference is crucial.

We at ACSH are in favor of truthfully communicating with smokers about the benefits of a harm reduction approach and promoting this as a new paradigm to deal with the unacceptable toll of smoking. The methodologies comprising tobacco harm reduction (THR) have significant potential benefits in terms of reducing the serious toll of cigarette smoking; these methodologies supply addicted smokers with the substance they crave — nicotine — but at a much reduced cost in terms of adverse health effects.
While we are in full agreement that no form of tobacco use is entirely “safe” (i.e., without an increased risk of adverse health effects), and that therefore all tobacco use should be discouraged, it is still necessary to acknowledge that there are 46 million addicted adult smokers in our nation. The problem remains that, while almost three-quarters wish to quit, and almost one-half do indeed attempt to quit each year, well under ten percent succeed. One reason for this abysmal “success” rate is that the methods approved by the FDA (including the nicotine patch, gum, inhalers, and pharmaceuticals such as Zyban and Chantix) and promoted by the official public health authorities and the large nonprofits, are simply not helpful to the majority of those who try them.

E-cigarettes do help people quit. The increasing evidence from anecdotal reports and clinical studies shows that addicted smokers are significantly more likely to quit cigarettes when they are aided by e-cigarettes as opposed to those cessation products approved by the FDA[1]. Furthermore, the FDA’s warning that the chemicals in e-cigarette vapor may be “unsafe” or “toxic” is not backed by evidence that trace amounts actually cause any harm; in fact, similar traces of these same “carcinogens” have been detected in other FDA-approved cessation products such as nicotine patches and gum. The difference seems to be that e-cigarettes actually succeed in getting people to quit smoking.

A product that can end a smoker’s exposure to the carcinogenic products in tobacco smoke is not one that can be dismissed lightly. It should not be rejected based upon ideology or unscientific extrapolation and insinuation. This is why, instead of warning the public about unlikely risks associated with e-cigarettes, the FDA should also consider their benefits: taking steps that encourage further study and better regulation of these products will be more advantageous to everyone involved. At the very least, the FDA’s position should be expectant, neutral, rather than dismissive.

We at ACSH firmly believe that the more comprehensive the investigation, the more likely it is that reasonable people will come to understand that the official policies of adhering to a current attitude of “quit or die” does little to affect the continued toll of over 400,000 smoking-related deaths each year. This is no longer an acceptable position from a public health perspective, which is why we ask you to reconsider your negative stance toward e-cigarettes.

Thank you for your consideration.


Elizabeth M. Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.

President, The American Council on Science and Health

Gilbert Ross, M.D.
Medical Director, Executive Director, The American Council on Science and Health

Nigel Bark, M.D.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Sir Colin Berry, D.Sc., Ph.D., M.D., M.B, FRCPath
Professor of Morbid Anatomy and Histopathology
Director, Institute of Pathology, Royal London Hospital

Emil William Chynn, MD, FACS, MBA
Attending Surgeon and Resident Instructor
New York Eye & Ear Infirmary

Laura C. Green, Ph.D., D.A.B.T.
Senior Scientist and President
Cambridge Environmental Inc

Clark W. Heath, JR., M.D.
Vice President Emeritus
Epidemiology and Surveillance Research
American Cancer Society

James D. Herbert, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
Drexel University

William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H.

Professor, Department of Public Health

California State University, Los Angeles

Albert G. Nickel
Chairman (ret.)
LyonHeart

Bill D. Roebuck, Ph.D.
Professor of Toxicology
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Marvin J. Schissel, D.D.S.
David E. Seidemann, Ph.D.
Professor of Geology
Department of Geology
Brooklyn College, CUNY

Michael Siegel, MD, MPH
Professor
Department of Community Health Sciences
Boston University School of Public Health

[1] Polosa, R. et al. (2011). “Effect of an electronic nicotine delivery device (e-Cigarette) on smoking reduction and cessation: a prospective 6-month pilot study.” BMC Public Health. 11: 786

M6 toll coach terror scare caused by vapour from electronic cigarette

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Not the best PR from Electronic Cigarette perspective, but it should certainly raise awareness!

from http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/05/m6-coach-passengers-evacuated-police?cat=world&type=article

Police report ‘health improvement aid for smokers’ in Megabus passenger’s bag caused toll road closure in West Midlands.

The evacuation of a coach on the M6 toll road which caused long tailbacks on one of the country’s busiest roads was a terror scare caused by the smoke vapour from an electronic cigarette, police have revealed.

Staffordshire police led an operation to evacuate almost 50 people from a Megabus coach heading south on the M6 toll road in the West Midlands on Thursday morning. There were reports that a passenger on board was seen pouring liquid into a bag which created smoke or fumes, causing others onboard to alert the driver. But the smoke came from an electronic cigarette, it was later revealed.

The terror alert, which saw armed policemen and dozens of emergency service vehicles deployed to the motorway near Litchfield, was caused by a “health improvement aid for smokers”, police said.

Armed officers responded to a “genuine security alert” from a concerned member of the public on board the coach travelling from Preston to London, according to Staffordshire police.

“The information received concerned a report of vapour escaping from a bag which on investigation turned out to be a health improvement aid for smokers,” a force spokeswoman said.

The motorway ws closed in both directions between junctions three and four at Weeford Park Plaza, near Lichfield, for several hours after receiving the alert at 8.20am. The closure caused long tailbacks during the rush hour, which were exacerbated by an accident on the same motorway near junction 13.

Police evacuated 48 people from the bus, which was travelling from Preston to London. The passengers were then led some distance away to the toll plaza of the road.

Aerial footage from the scene revealed that the passengers – including women and children – were sitting within a square enclosure at regular distances from each other surrounded by uniformed officers. Several other cordoned-off areas could be seen, with bright yellow tents erected on the other side of the toll plaza.

At least eight fire engines and six police vehicles were at the scene, with sniffer dogs examining the abandoned coach.

Before information about the electronic cigarette emerged a spokeswoman said police had received a call at around 8.20am form a member of the public “genuinely concerned member of the public about suspicious activity on a coach travelling on the M6 toll at Weeford, near Lichfield. Staffordshire police co-ordinated a multi-agency response.

“Given the nature of the report we responded swiftly and proportionately, treating the information as credible and extremely seriously. Our utmost priority was the safety and security of those people on the coach and those travelling on the motorway.

“The M6 toll carriageways were closed in both directions, the coach was directed to the hard shoulder of the motorway and armed officers calmly evacuated passengers with their full support and co-operation.

“Importantly, we are not treating this as a counter-terrorism incident.”

Witnesses told the BBC that cars were stopped on the M6 toll road and left without information from the police for around 90 minutes. When they began getting out of their cars a police officer informed them to get back in their vehicles, keep the windows closed and the air conditioning off. The cars were then led away from the scene.

. The fire service, officers from West Midlands and Staffordshire police and ambulance crews went to the scene to help the people off the coach.

A spokeswoman for Megabus, which is operated by Stagecoach, said all the passengers were safe and well.