E cigarettes – blow up in people’s face – yikes!

[Shwa Girl]

Some people are using e-cigarettes to quit smoking.

E-cigarettes are battery-powered cartridges filled with a nicotine liquid that, when heated, creates an inhalable mist. Little is known about the long-term health effects of the products, which were developed in China and moved into the U.S. market in 2007.
Most are made in China but are not regulated for quality control.

Some use it in restaurants, but

One person told the FDA that while eating dinner at a restaurant a customer at the next table was smoking an e-cigarette.
"The vapor cloud was big enough to come over my table and the e-cig smoker was 'huffing' it voraciously," the person, whose name was redacted, wrote. "I got dizzy, my eyes began to water and I ended up taking my food to go because of the intense heartbeat I began to develop."

Some use it at home, but

One woman wrote that her husband began smoking e-cigarettes liberally in his car and home after being told they were safe and that the vapor was "just like water."
"My 4-year-old has had a raspy voice since he started but I really didn't think anything of it till last night my husband was just puffing away on that thing for hours and I woke up wheezing and unable to breathe."

Some have blown up:

One smoker began using e-cigarettes following dental surgery after the dentist said quitting smoking would speed the healing process, according to a report filed last October with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that was forwarded to the FDA.
"It blew up in my mouth while inhaling, burning my stitches and gum, lip and fingers," the report said.

The tobacco companies in North America are losing money. In Asia, and emerging markets, they are making money. So tobacco companies are getting into the e cigarette market, to keep the funds flowing:

Reynolds American Inc, which began selling its Vuse e-cigarettes in Colorado last July and expects to expand nationwide this summer, makes its products in Kansas and North Carolina, though it still imports its batteries from China.

[Natalka]

Health Canada has advised Canadians not to use e-cigarettes, saying “these products may pose health risks and have not been fully evaluated for safety, quality and efficacy.”

E-cigarette liquids that contain nicotine, or make a claim that they can help smokers quit, are considered a health product, and require approval as a drug or device by Health Canada. Kendal Weber, Director General of the Policy, Planning and International Affairs Directorate of Health Canada says that no e-cigarette or e-liquid manufacturers have received Health Canada approval to make smoking cessation claims.

However, e-cigarettes and e-liquids that do not contain nicotine are legal for sale in Canada. Health Canada has recently announced a contract to study the retail sale of e-cigarettes and other nicotine replacement therapies in Canada. There has been some speculation about whether this research could be used to craft new legislation.

http://healthydebate.ca/2014/03/topi...arettes-canada

[Shwa Girl]

Thanks Natalka.
The hidden story is that they want teens and twenty year olds in the market. Get them on e cigarettes and then back to cigarettes when they need something stronger. Good marketing on the part of the tobacco companies. Bad for the the provincial health authorities, who will take care of the illnesses later.

[Ciel]

There seems to be a grey zone in e-cigarette use in Ontario. Parks and public buildings tend to have no-smoking signage-do they not apply to e-cigarettes? Indoor use in rental venues-do individual venues allow e-cigarettes or not? I can see a damage deposit situation coming out of the e-cigarette use in public/private spaThere seems to be a grey zone in e-cigarette use in Ontario. Parks and public buildings tend to have no-smoking signage-do they not apply to e-cigarettes? Indoor use in rental venues-do individual venues allow e-cigarettes or not? I can see a damage deposit situation coming out of the e-cigarette use in public/private spaces.

Yes, Health Canada is against the use and import of e-cigarettes yet Canadians are bringing them in. Municipalities will have to consider if existing anti-smoking bylaws, laws and policies extend to e-cigarettes as well.