FDA: Electronic cigarettes are a no-no

Here's an item that you shouldn't include in your ever-growing arsenal of electronic devices, including cellphones, iPods, PDAs, GPS trackers and laptops: the e-cigarette. The Food and Drug Administration today released an analysis of 19 varieties of electronic cigarettes that says that half contained nitrosamines (the same carcinogen found in real cigarettes) and that many contained diethylene glycol, the poisonous ingredient in antifreeze. Some that claimed to have no nicotine were found to have low levels of the drug.

E-cigarettes are promoted by their manufacturers as safer than traditional cigarettes because they do not burn tobacco. Instead, a lithium battery in the cigarette-shaped device heats a solution of nicotine in propylene glycol, producing a fine mist that can be inhaled to deliver nicotine directly to the lungs. An LED glows red at the tip and they even emit puffs of white smoke similar to that seen in stage shows. The devices are available in more than 4,000 retail outlets nationwide, as well as on many websites, with a starting cost of $40 to $70. Over the last year, sales have grown from about $10 million to $100 million, according to the Electronic Cigarette Assn., the industry's trade group. They also come in a variety of flavors, including chocolate, mint and apple, which make them appealing to children and adolescents.

Most of the e-cigarettes are produced in China, where they have become very popular. The varieties tested by FDA, however, were produced by Smoking Everywhere, a Florida company, and Njoy Cigarettes of Scottsdale, Ariz. In a telephone news conference, agency officials said "quality control processes used to manufacture these products are inconsistent or nonexistent."

They have become very controversial. Some countries, like Australia, have banned them because their health risks are unknown. Action on Smoking and Health, an anti-tobacco group headed by activist John Banzhaf, has petitioned the FDA to regulate the products and Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has called on the agency to remove them from the market immediately, a call that has been echoed by the American Heart Assn., the American Lung Assn. and other groups.

Even though the e-cigarettes are marketed as healthy, critics charge that the delivery of nicotine directly to the lungs speeds its passage to the brain, enhancing the drug's addictive properties. Critics also said the devices are appealing to the young and could serve as a learning aid to promote smoking of actual cigarettes. Stop-smoking experts say the devices are not useful for ending cigarette addiction because they do nothing to interrupt the hand-to-mouth behavior that is an integral part of the habit.

For its part, the FDA has classified e-cigarettes as a drug delivery device, which subjects them to regulation and requires proof of safety. The agency has been examining and detaining the product at the border, halting more than 50 shipments, but has not taken any steps to remove it from the U.S. market. The FDA has been sued by manufacturers that say the agency has no jurisdiction over the device because it is not marketed as a stop-smoking aid.

The discovery of carcinogens and toxins in at least two products may encourage the FDA to step up its actions against manufacturers. The agency, however, has not said whether it will move against the makers of the tested products.

"Electronic cigarettes should be absolutely avoided because they clearly have toxic elements," said Dr. Jonathan Whiteson, a pulmonologist at New York University Langone Medical Center. "It is proven now that electronic cigarettes contain toxic elements. Electronic cigarettes play no role in smoking cessation and don't add to a healthier lifestyle."

-- Thomas H. Maugh II

Photo: The inventor of an electronic cigarette, Hon Lik, smokes his invention in Beiijng earlier this year.

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Comments

[Electronic Cigarette]

Why doesn't the FDA stop manufacturers of tobacco cigarettes, that have over 4,000 harmful chemicals. Oh....because it's a Cash Cow for the government.
Our customers that have quit smoking rave that the electronic cigarette helped them quit their addiction. Yes, you have the behavioral 'hand to mouth' thing, but the first step was to wean themselves off of nicotine, then they replaced the oral fixation with other things, eventually completely quitting smoking, both regular and e-cigarettes.
As with all new things, there is always controversy. I just hope that people (even if you don't smoke) realize that this is a revolutionary 'life-line' for smokers that are trying to quit and need a slow progression down.

[Mick McDaniel]

This is a bunch of B.S. The FDA is getting payed off by big pharm and big tobacco, not only is this b.s. but the information is a LIE!! there have been other studies that show differently then this FDA crap! Everyone should do there homework and NOT listen to this contaminated FDA...They are just trying to scare people away but you know what its not going to work. They need to do a comparison to REGULAR cigarettes and see whats in those compared to this GREAT new innovative product!!!...This makes e-cigarette users outraged. The FDA is going to cause more havoc for themselves. Phillip morris is also conducting a study on Crown7's cartridges and Njoy's cartridges, check out the link!

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/e-cigarette-news/27340-nci-ecig-clinical-trials-looking-particapants.html

[JohnR]

The FDA is wrong. I no longer smoke tobacco cigarettes, after over 40 years of smoking. After a period of 6 weeks total use of the NPro brand of e cigarette I've been able to cut my smoking "habit" down by over half, using the e cig. The amount of nicotine I'm ingesting using this method is less than when I smoked up to 2 packs of tobacco cigarettes a day. I only use the e cigarette at this time and would absolutely recommend it as a viable option for any smoker to consider, if they're serious about quitting smoking.

When the FDA chooses to stop the the tobacco industry and their production of tobacco cigarettes - which have been clearly identified as toxic, lethal and dangerous to even those exposed to it second hand...

I'll consider their opinion as reasonable and honest.

As long as they choose to promote death, delivered with full knowledge through the tobacco cigarette, they won't have much credence to any thinking adult investigating this topic. They may be the legal entity with power, but they're obviously yelling "wolf" over a much lesser concern and avoiding the clearly identified enemy.

We need to be asking why that is.

[Randall Fox]

I call BS.

"chocolate, mint and apple, which make them appealing to children and adolescents."

Ever seen the vodka section of a liquor store? Adults like taste, also. One has to suspend the thought process to not understand that.

"Stop-smoking experts say the devices are not useful for ending cigarette addiction because they do nothing to interrupt the hand-to-mouth behavior that is an integral part of the habit."

And these are the same "experts" who'll give you patches, or even anti-depressent drugs repackaged for "quit smoking" purposes - drugs that have been proven to cause homicidal and suicidal thoughts - just what a person undergoing the stress of nicotine withdrawal needs. Genius. And these same "experts" don't mention their prescriptions don't addres the hand-to-mouth issue.... electronic cigarettes do.

"Electronic cigarettes should be absolutely avoided because they clearly have toxic elements,"

Show me your lab report!!! HealthNewZealand has done plenty of labwork that can be found online, and their results show that all the ingredients in e-cigs (vegetable glycerine/propylene glycol, tobacco absolute, flavors, water) are FDA GRAS (generally recognized as safe), are used in foods we eat everyday, and are 100% metabolized by the human body. So shoe me YOUR lab report that says different. At least name a toxin. Why don't you say what these "harmful" ingredients are?

If you want to get past the reactionary drivel and learn the truth about e-cigs, visit www.e-cig-info.org, a non-commercial information website. If you want to see prices, flavors and styles, visit www.libertyecig.com, an online retailer.

Don't take the word of the anti-s, find out the truth for yourself.

[stanton hill]

Tobacco lobby and pharmaceutical companies win again,...cut to Isley Brothers "money money money"

[Bobbie]

My husband and I both esmoke(vape). Neither of us did it to quit smoking and we do not consider ourselves "ex-smokers." We're still addicted to nicotine, which is what smoking cigarettes is all about.

We also didn't start vaping because we thought it would be healthier, so the fact that some liquid nicotine (e-liquid) contaions carcenogenics doesn't concern us that much, because cigarettes(analogues) do too.

We became esmokers because the cost averages out to about $9 per carton equivalent. We had been paying $17 per carton from a KY. mail-order company, but with the PACT ACT Bill currently in Congress(if it passes) then the customers state tobacco tax will have to be added to the cost of all cartons of cigarettes purchased over the internet, the phone, or by mail.

In anticipation of this Bill (probably) passing, we switched to ecigs, which we find to be just as satifying as analogues.

We order directly from the manufacture in China (the same company most US ecig companies order their supplies from) and pay half of what it costs to buy from US companies. We have ordered 3 times now, and have no problems "at the border".

[e cigarette]

Are you kidding me.... wow...... These people have soo much power, they can just write whatever they want.

Everybody please visit http://www.ecassoc.org/ who trying to fight back against these heavy weights. LETS make the product here in the US, and regulate it not BAN it.... because it is saving lives every day.

[Randall McCurdy]

I find it funny that they FDA "claims" that they found these chemicals in the nicotine found in the electronic cigarettes, yet the same type of nicotine is found in nicorette gum which is FDA approved?

Contradicting a bit?

[Shantyhag]

All I can say for certain is that before I got my Intellicig in the mail I was smoking 2 packs of cigarettes per day, at a cost of about 12 dollars. On top of that, I was using an asthma rescue inhaler multiple times through the day.

Now, I smoke 3-5 cigarettes a day, spend about 12 dollars per week on cigarettes and use the inhaler almost never.

Before, I wouldn't leave the house without either, going to lengths to make certain both were with me. Now, it's not even a thought; though I do make certain to pack a spare battery and an extra cartridge if I'm going to be gone for awhile.

The e-cig has made a dramatic difference in my life in the short time that I've been using it, and I would highly recommend it to any current smoker.

[DTM]

I smoked for 12 years. During those 12 years I tried to quit numerous times - patches, drugs, classes - you name it. They all worked for a few weeks and then I was back to puffing.

My friend and I saw the Smoking Everywhere kiosk at the mall and I said - let's take a look. I took a puff from the demo (they changed the filters per person, don't worry) and I knew right away that this device was going to save my life!

We bought one - the very day I started using the e-cig is the day I quit using tobacco. I have not had a single puff of tobacco in 271 days. I have NEVER gone this long without a cigarette.

I only used the e-cig for 2 or 3 months before I no longer needed it. Thanks to this device I can now climb a flight of stairs and not feel like I'm going to die of hypoxia!

Dear FDA - if you want to ban something, ban the the thing that IS killing kids and adults alike - ban the use of tobacco. If you are not willing to do that, then SHUT UP!!

Thanks.

[Lbiz]

Let me handle this one for you skeptics out there.

The lab report states that they found a chemical (diethylene glycol) at a miniscule amount of less than 1% from 1 specific cartridge from 1 specific flavor from 1 specific brand (No other cartridges had any of this chemical), the same brand that is currently SUING the FDA for stealing their shipments without authority - SmokingEverywhere (Jeez i wonder if there is a connection there)...

Less than 1% was found... WHATS THE MARGIN OF ERROR??

Secondly the other chemicals found that are apparently toxic are nitrosamine's... These are nicotine deritives that are already found and known to be in real cigarettes and these were only found in LESS than HALF of the cartridges tested.

This means that about half of the cartridges tested contained NO TOXIC SUBSTANCES and 99% tested were safer than real cigarettes. Yet they are marketing the conclusion that all ecigs are dangerous? Where does this come from... if you even read the report they specifically point out this is not their conclusion.

Read the FDA summary found here:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm173146.htm

It states "Due to the variability among products, this analysis should not be used to draw conclusions about what substances are or are not present in particular electronic cigarettes or brands of electronic cigarettes."

So the conclusion they came to is that not all ecigarette brands are bad and out of half the cartridges tested more than 50% contain no toxins at all and 99% tested were safer than cigarettes.

This means that 50% of them tested were the real deal... A safe e-cigarette. A product that can take you off real cigarettes - safely. So this simply just proves the concept is real and officially possible... we just need stricter nicotine liquid manufacturing - which is easy enough to come by.

Lastly the companies tested are SmokingEverywhere and NJOY both known throughout the electronic cigarette world as garbage. Their products suck and if you actually use Ecigs you already know this.

Let the FDA test the Ruyan, the Joye510, or Vaporking 510 (http://www.electroniccigarettesinc.com) and I guarantee you they will come up clean -

You couldn't pay me to start smoking real cigarette's again. This is all hype brought on by the Pharm and big tobacco - think about there loss of revenues from quit smoking drugs to actual cigarettes.... They find one bad egg and try to destroy the whole product... Ecig's have too much of a following, too much of a success rate, we cannot let them do this.

If they plan a ban, I plan a protest!

[Phil]

Wow, After reading all the comments, I realize that the users of the e cigs know more about what they are talking about than the FDA. I have been skeptical about purchasing one, now after reading this article and the comments that followed, I am buying one for sure.

Thanks LATimes for making this an easy choice for me!

[Matthew Ketchum]

I have to say this is incredibly disappointing to hear. Big tobacco has been manufacturing death right here in our own country for over a century. With 4,000 chemicals and over 60 of them to be known carcinogens. I started smoking when I was 15 obviously there is no real way to regulate something that over 45 million (~20%)people do in the united states. If there chief concern was to protect us from carcinogens they should have banned cigarettes ages ago but yet I can buy cigarettes from nearly 25 locations within a one mile radius of my house and I can only buy e-cigs mainly online or in large shopping centers. I implore people to please protest what is happening here. Since I got my e-cigs a little over a month ago through www.nextgensmoke.com I have got my smoking down of regular cigs to 3/4s and my lungs feel ten times better that has to say something. Anyone with a basic understanding of the sciences can see that the e-cig invention is one that will save millions of lives for years to come. I would much rather use something that has 4 ingredients that something that contains 4,000 what do you think?

[Ricardo]

This article is shoddily written and entirely uninformative. It calls nitrosamines "the same carcinogen found in real cigarettes." Obviously, there are HUNDREDS of carcinogens found in real cigarettes. How much are we talking about? They contain diethylene glycol? In what concentration? Hell, tap water probably has trace amounts of diethylene glycol in it. Ever done any independent reporting, Tom, or are you just a PR guy for the FDA?!!

[Brad]

Fairly obvious that there are some people posting here with a vested interest in e-cigarette sales...

[Brian]

Smoking anything is retarded. It's expensive, it's disgusting and it hurts your health and shortens your life and/or reduces the quality of your life.
If you choose to be addicted to a drug, regardless of the delivery method, I seriously question your intelligence.

[John]

Have asthma AND smoking? Talk about dumb!

The only "safe" alternative to smoking is NOT SMOKING!

Whether you're dependent on nicotine by regular cigarettes or this laughable thing, you are STILL dependent on a DRUG.

[Adam, Vermont Vapor, Inc.]

"The Food and Drug Administration today released an analysis of 19 varieties of electronic cigarettes that says that half contained nitrosamines (the same carcinogen found in real cigarettes) and that many contained diethylene glycol, the poisonous ingredient in antifreeze. Some that claimed to have no nicotine were found to have low levels of the drug."

Well, it's too bad they didn't test ours. So, they found bad stuff in liquid from China... Am I the only one who's less than shocked?

But really, do we ban toys because some toys from China now come in lead flavor? No. We just make a point of buying American made. It should be the same with e-Liquid for electronic cigarettes.

If the manufacturer doesn't list the ingredients then you probably shouldn't be inhaling it.

[Peter]

Doesn't this JUST FIGURE ?!!!!!!

QUIT SMOKING, OR DIE, PEOPLE !

The End.

[Rave Racer]

As a non smoker but intelligent adult who abhors being subjected to second hand smoke, I do see a clear benefit to this just for my health alone. It may contain as many toxins as a real Cig, but at least I don't have to smell it. I think it's a good idea, and as someone else said, make it here and regulate it. Work towards getting the old sticks off the shelves and let the rest of us breath a sigh of relief. Find another way to over tax the underpaid.

[Sanity]

I call B.S. on the commenting above. If you're advocates of the E-Cig, and we are to put our trust and health in your hands....I am already terribly afraid. It would take at least basic common sense let alone vast understanding of the body and brain to produce and market this product. AND YET you have not the good sense NOT to post comments that are all similar (for e cigs) within seconds and minutes of one another. Really guys, as if that many reader all happened to be against regulation all read and commented on the article at the same damn time. AGAIN...I call B.S. on you as a citizen of a country that is tired of being a guinea pig and scapegoat.

Study the very basic of addiction and gateways for children and teens.
Trading one toxicity for another....another that we have no idea how it will effect you in the future is just ridiculous.
Yes, the FDA and other sources should have regulated cigarettes, but they didn't and many paid. They are now TRYING to find some rectification for that life threatening mistake.
If they did not call attention to another potential safety concern now, years down the road or months...ppl would be charging the FDA and gov. for answers.AND suing your asses for damages.

You are as bad the tobacco industry with you slippery slop fallacies. Shame on you.

Great reporting.Thank you for bring this truth to light so people can have a safe and balanced choice in their own health!!!!!

[Ricardo Gutierrez]

This article states that "many contained diethylene glycol, the poisonous ingredient in antifreeze." I just read the FDA report and only one contained this chemical – the Smoking Everywhere (TM) high nicotine cigarette. Also, only two brands were studied (19 different flavors, combined). In addition, neither this article nor the original report specifies what quantities the nitrosamines were found in, or how these quantities compare to regular cigarettes. This is disappointing. I would truly like to know the health risks associated with e-cigarettes, but everything I read on the topic seems incomplete.

[Joe]

Obviouly he made in China items could have some isses with quality and saftey...however this smells like Big Tobacco Companies are putting some muscle on Gov to band E-Cigs. Why dont we just band cigarettes..we know they cause cancer.

[John]

This is a scam. I have lost all faith in the government to do the right thing. This is a clear case of the government trying to stop losing the tax revenues it gets from tobacco. I know tobacco is bad, but I also know that red meat, alcohol and sugary drinks are equally bad. The only reason why the government gets away with taxing tobacco is because less than 3 out of 10 people smoke. This tyranny of the majority has resulted in unfair taxation on a minority. The arguments used in this 2 decade long bait and switch tactic is familiar - blame health costs on smokers, raise tobacco taxes, siphon off the money for other purposes, rinse and repeat. No scientific study has been done to assess the true cost of smokers on the health system. A true study will take into account the shorter lives of smokers and would also compare it with other vices like bad cholesterol and sugar.

[Tom]

Regardless of how much or how little of a toxic chemical found in these e-cigarettes, the fact still remains that most e-cigarette sellers have been marketing these as 'safe' and even going as far as to bluntly claim that they contain no carcinogens. Doesn't this sound like how 'big tobacco' did it? This makes the e-cigarette companies no better. If there were harmful chemicals inside, why didn't they just disclose that up front instead of hiding it? Wake up people. There's a reason these products have no list of ingredients or warnings coming with them. There's a reason that they're all trying to skirt around the FDA instead of just applying for an approval. They're harmful - we just don't know how harmful. It's a matter of dealing with the devil you know, or the devil you don't...