E-Cigarettes: Still Too Many Question Marks
E-CIGARETTES TALKING POINTS
Comprehensive tobacco prevention efforts have helped drastically reduce tobacco use in Wisconsin, but the rising popularity of e-cigarettes threatens to undo that progress.
DON’T BE FOOLED, E-CIGARETTES PRODUCE MORE THAN JUST WATER VAPOR
∙ E-cigarettes emit an aerosol that may contain nicotine, ultrafine particles, heavy metals, formaldehyde and other cancer-causing chemicals.1
∙ Communities have come to expect clean indoor air.
- E-cigarette use threatens this standard and makes enforcement confusing.
∙ Instead of comparing aerosol from e-cigarettes to secondhand smoke, we should be comparing it to clean air.
E-CIGARETTES HAVEN’T BEEN PROVEN SAFE
∙ There is not consistent manufacturing standards from brand to brand.
- With 90% of these products manufactured in China, there is no way for consumers or bystanders to know what they are being exposed to.
∙ Studies have shown the use of e-cigarettes can cause short-term lung changes and irritations.2 - Non-users can be exposed to the same potentially harmful chemicals as users. 3,4
∙ Poison center calls related to e-cigarettes have surged in the past 4 years.
- More than half of these calls involved children ages 5 and younger.5
WHILE THERE ARE METHODS APPROVED BY THE FDA TO HELP SMOKERS QUIT, E-CIGARETTES AREN’T ONE OF THEM
∙ Unlike nicotine patches, lozenges, and gum, e-cigarettes haven’t been approved by the FDA as an effective cessation device.
∙ The combination of cessation counseling and FDA-approved medications is the most effective way to help smokers quit.
∙ Tobacco users can access free quitting help by calling the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line at 1-800-QUIT NOW.
AGGRESSIVE MARKETING AND CANDY FLAVORING ARE TEMPTING MORE YOUTH TO TRY E-CIGARETTES
∙ Unlike conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes are regularly advertised on TV and often come in a variety of candy flavors like cotton candy and gummy bear.
∙ The 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS) reports that the number of youth using e-cigarettes tripled from 2013-2014.
- For the same survey, more youth reported using e-cigarettes than conventional tobacco products. ∙ E-cigarette use is associated with increased intentions to smoke conventional cigarettes.6 ∙ Nicotine (a primary ingredient in most e-cigarettes) is known to have harmful effects on adolescent brains.7
TALKING POINT REFERENCES
1 E-cigarettes: A scientific review. Contemporary Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine. Circulation, 2014 2 Callahan-Lyon, P. Electronic cigarettes: human health effects. Tobacco Control 2014; 23: ii36-II40.
3 Saffari, A et al. particulate metals and organic compounds from electronic and tobacco-containing cigarettes: comparison of emission rates and secondhand smoke exposure. Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 2014; DOI: 10.1039/c4em00415a.
4 Flouris, AD et al. Acute impact of active and passive electronic cigarette smoking on serum cotinine and lung function. Inhalation Toxicology 2013; 25(2): 91-101.
5 Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Weekly Report (MMWR) Notes from the Field: Calls to Poison Centers for Exposures to Electronic Cigarettes — United States, September 2010–February 2014.
6 Bunnell RE, et al. Intentions to smoke cigarettes among never-smoking US middle and high school electronic cigarette users: National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2011-2013. Nicotine Tob Res. 2015 Feb;17(2):228-35.
7 US Department of Health and Human Services. The health consequences of smoking—50 years of progress. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Healthand Human Services, CDC; 2014. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/50th anniversary/index.htm.