E-Cigarettes Yet to Gain FDA Approval
If you believed the manufacturers of e-cigarettes, you would think they were God's gift to the nicotine-addicted. They are marketed as safe nicotine delivery systems, complete with the look and feel of real cigarettes. According to a recent story in CNN, the FDA isn't sold on these magic sticks just yet -- is it really any surprise?
E-cigarettes are plastic cigarette-like contraptions that deliver pure nicotine to the user when sucked upon. The process is fueled by a small internal battery that heats a small store of liquid nicotine housed within the filter. When a person sucks in as they would with a traditional cigarette, the heat and liquid combine to vaporize the nicotine, which produces a small puff of "smoke" from the tip (which lights up for good measure). Manufacturers compare the nicotine in their product to that in patches and gum used to curb addiction, but the FDA considers e-cigs an unapproved new drug, citing a lack of scientific proof of their safety and/or effectiveness and is currently attempting to block their importation.
There is no doubt that these devices are safer than real cigarettes, but we believe the Elicko Taieb, CEO of e-cig manufacturer Smoking Everywhere, didn't help his case when he admitted, in a statement to CNN, that "it is a pretty new product, so we are not 100 percent sure of the side effects at this point, " He went on to say " we haven't heard of any negative side effects yet, but we are pretty sure they are safe." Whew, well that's a load off.
We know from experience that "pretty sure" isn't sure at all, so for now we will just chew some gum. [From: CNN]
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