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The FDA's E-Cigarette and Tobacco Strategies
It cannot be denied that it is the Food and Drug Administration's business to protect the American public. They provide the policies that prevent risks to our health. However, their handling of the e-cigarette industry versus the tobacco industry has raised a great deal of controversy. Some would argue that it is actually a self-defeating approach.
Smokeless Cigarettes as A Quitting Tool
By no stretch of the imagination do smokeless cigarettes have the official FDA sanction as a tool for quitting smoking. However, empirical evidence would suggest that they are, in fact, an extremely effective tool to help smokers quit. How effective? According to the American Association of Public Health Physicians, they could literally save the lives of ½ of our current 8 million smokers. That's 4 million lives—not a small number by any measure. E-Cig not Approved for Quitting, but What Is? The only FDA approved nicotine substitutes are patches, gum and lozenges. There are medications that have been approved for quitting, but these tend not to be cost-effective and pose their own health risks. A popular example is Chantix, whose associated risks (including suicide, heart attack and seizure) have led to class action lawsuits. The latest thrust to encourage quitting smoking by the FDA is to cover the top half of cigarette packs with warnings and graphic images of the effects of tobacco smoke. Showing nightmare images of blackened lungs, rotten teeth and dead bodies is the plan, as if smokers do not know well enough what the risks of smoking are.
The FDA's E Cigarette Test Results and Criticisms
According to their report, there are trace toxic elements that they would not approve of. According to Dr. Brad Rodu in the Harm Reduction Journal, “trace” in this case is "about 1 million times lower concentrations than are conceivably related to human health.” John Tierney, science columnist for the New York Times, points out that these same toxins are present in many FDA-approved products, including nicotine patches and gum, and that the FDA has not even proven that these elements are toxic. This begs the question of why the FDA still seeks to flat out ban e-cigarettes based on trace elements that “could be” toxic, versus displaying the well-known effects of tobacco use on cigarette packs. Does this approach seem effective or counter productive to the goal of public health?
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