Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager:
Is that person over at the corner table at your favorite smoke-free restaurant smoking? Maybe yes…maybe no.
A new product on the market is the electronic cigarette. Here’s how they work. Each unit has a cartridge containing nicotine and water, a heating element, and a battery. Most look pretty much like a real filtered cigarette. When you puff on the filter, the element vaporizes the water/nicotine solution and you take that into your lungs. Nicotine delivered to the lungs gets to the brain very quickly. It supposedly tastes like a real cigarette, but has no smoke – only vapor with nicotine. In essence, it is a nicotine delivery system.
So are they safe? Can they help people quit smoking actual cigarettes? How much nicotine do they deliver at each puff? Can a user become addicted to the e-cig? These are all good questions, but there are no good answers. Why? The answer is that these products are not regulated in any way. Not by the Federal Drug Administration. Not by the Federal Trade Commission. Not by anybody. We have only the word of the manufacturer to go by.
One could presume they are safer than a real cigarette, with its 4,000 chemicals and over 60 carcinogens, because the e-cigarette purportedly has no smoke—only water vapor with nicotine. But, we really don’t know if they are safe or not. Since they do contain nicotine, they undoubtedly have some addiction potential, but we don’t know how addictive they might be.
Can they help people quit smoking? The manufacturer of Safesmoke E-Cigarette says they can. But, their claims not based on any data from external evaluators or any studies. So, in fact, we have no idea if they can help someone quit smoking.
E-cigs are being made by a number of manufacturers, mainly in Asia. These include the Smoke Everywhere E-Cig, the Safesmoke E-Cigarette, the Ruyan E-Cigarette, along with several others. They sell for somewhere between $50 and $150. Cartridges containing water and nicotine sell for about $2 each. Safesmoke claims that you get around 300 puffs from each cartridge.
One thing is clear. Most of these products are being marketed to smokers to use “where smoking is not allowed.” With more and more states implementing smoke-free indoor air regulations, the market could be significant. A big question is whether these products are actually allowed to be used in smoke-free areas. Is a restaurant owner going to allow someone to use something that looks like it is putting out smoke and risk a big fine? Or, risk losing business to patrons who do not want to be exposed to this “smokeless cigarette”?
Free & Clear cannot recommend these products to smokers. With no scientific studies examining their safety or proven ability to help smokers quit, we can only remain suspect. Since there are clinically and scientifically validated ways to help smokers quit (Clinical Practice Guidelines), we see no place for this product in the field of tobacco dependence treatment at this point in time.
We will be watching these products closely and post an update when there is more information.