E-cigarettes are far from safe, Robert Jackler, MD, writes in a strongly worded op-ed that appeared over the weekend in the San Jose Mercury News.
Most at risk are teens and tweens, enticed by flavors ranging from cotton candy, gummy bear and root beer to peanut butter cookie. (An aside: Can you imagine a hardened, pack-a-day smoker deciding to curb his or her harmful habit by switching to cotton candy-flavored e-cigarettes?)
Interestingly, these flavors, which are thought to be safe in foods may be upping the harmfulness of the e-cigs; after all, the lungs process chemicals much differently than the stomach does. (Remember popcorn lung? In the early 2000's, a group of workers at a microwave popcorn plant fell ill after inhaling too much of the flavoring agent, diacetyl, used to give popcorn its buttery taste.)
From Jackler's piece:
In 2009, to reduce youth smoking, the FDA banned flavors (other than menthol) from traditional cigarettes. Fearing regulatory action, the e-cigarette industry response has echoed the playbook of the tobacco industry. One brand went so far as to commission a study which, not surprisingly, arrived at the improbable finding that flavors do not appeal to the young. The industry argues that flavored e-cigarettes should be allowed because they have not been proven unsafe.
Jackler goes on to warn of the progressive nature of lung damage — e-cigarette smokers may be accumulating harm well before they notice a problem.
Previously: Raising the age for tobacco access would benefit health, says new Institute of Medicine report, How e-cigarettes are sparking a new wave of tobacco marketing, E-cigarettes and the FDA: A conversation with a tobacco-marketing researcher and E-Cigarettes: The explosion of vaping is about to be regulated
Photo by Hachim.Pi
