E Cig Info

From ABCNews.com
Judge: FDA Cannot Regulate Electronic Cigarettes
Federal judge says FDA overstepped bounds, sides with electronic cigarette makers
By MATTHEW PERRONE
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON

A federal judge says the Food and Drug Administration overstepped its authority in recent efforts to regulate electronic cigarettes.

A ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon handed down Thursday sides with two electronic cigarette suppliers, Smoking Everywhere and NJOY, in their lawsuit against the FDA.

The companies sued the government after regulators began halting shipments of electronic cigarettes last year. The FDA said it found cancer-causing ingredients in the products, despite manufacturers’ claims that the products are safer than tobacco cigarettes.

Electronic cigarettes use a battery-operated vaporizer to produce a nicotine mist that simulates inhalable smoke. Manufacturers have touted the products as a healthier alternative to smoking because there is no burning involved.

The FDA argued that electronic cigarettes are in fact a combination drug-device, and therefore subject to stricter safety standards than cigarettes.

But Judge Leon rejected that reasoning, agreeing with manufactures that electronic cigarettes are “the functional equivalent of traditional cigarettes.”

“This case appears to be yet another example of FDA’s aggressive efforts to regulate recreational tobacco products as drugs or devices,” states Leon’s ruling. “Unfortunately, its tenacious drive to maximize its regulatory power has resulted in its advocacy of an interpretation of the relevant law that I find, at first blush, to be unreasonable.”

Leon was appointed to the U.S. District Court by President Bush in 2002.

The FDA recently gained the power to regulate tobacco-based cigarettes, but since electronic cigarettes don’t contain tobacco they don’t fall under that regulation.

The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids said Leon’s ruling, if upheld, “opens a gaping hole in the protection FDA has provided against the sale and distribution of non-tobacco products.”

E Cigs Growing in Popularity

If you frequent your local shopping malls, you’ve probably seen a small kiosk in the center aisles peddling some new gadget that looks like a plastic cigarette. E-cigs are generally the same shape and size of a traditional cigarette. These e-cig kiosks are popping up more and more every day as the popularity of electric cigarettes catchs on across the nation.

Electric cigarettes were originally created in China in 2004. While they are still mostly under the radar in the United States, the popularity is increasing and more and more retailers are setting up shop in shopping malls and on the Internet.

E-Cig Basics

An e-cigarette is powered by an e-cig cartridge connected to an atomozier, connected to a batter. The battery is generally charged with a USB cord plugged into your computer, a battery pack, or a wall charger.  The e-cig cartridges contain a liquid solution of nicotine and propylene glycol (the substance often used in fog machines.) E-cig cartridges also come without nicotine and often include some kind of flavoring as well. Depending on the brand of e-cigs you’re smoking, you can either refill your used cartridge with e-liquid in the flavor of your choice, or replace the disposable cartridge with another one.

Probably the best-selling factor that separates e-cigs from  traditional tobacco cigarettes is health concerns. While the FDA has yet to test the safety of e-cigs, Tthe ingredients have been ruled as safe for general use. They include propylene glycol, sometimes alcohol, natural and artificial flavorings, vinegar, and a couple of other items that make up no more than 1% of the total solution.

Because e cigs don’t contain tar, carcinogens, cancer-causing agents, and smoke, they are being heralded as the safer alternative to smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes. When a user inhales the liquid solution, which is being called “vaping”, the vapor that is released by the inhaler is not smoke, contains no odor, and does not cause second-hand smoke. In fact, recent laboratory findings show that the nicotine cannot be found in the vapor that is exhaled.

As more and more retailers of e-cigs emerge, and more and more former traditional smokers are seen vaping in places that normally have a smoking ban, e-cigs will continue to catch on. Don’t be surprised to see electric cigarettes popping up in your workplace, your neighborhood bar and even on airplanes in the near future.
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The FDA VS. E-Cigs
The FDA has fresh jurisdiction over tobacco products and they are trying to parlay that control over the relatively new e-cigs, though they’re clearly not tobacco products.
E-cigarettes use a combination of an atomizer, battery and nicotine cartridge to create tobacco, tar and smoke free cigarette. The vapor (simulated smoke) that comes from an e-cig is generated by vaporizing a combination of nicotine and propylene glycol (usually found in fog machines.) The e-cig smoke inhales the vapor rather than carcinogenic tobacco smoke.
Though there’s no tobacco in e-cigs, that’s not stalling the FDA. They’ve recently stopped overseas shipments of e-cigarettes, components and accessories from coming into the United States. The FDA says they need to be regulated before they can be sold in the U.S.
U.S. companies manufacturing and selling E-Cigs, such as Blu Cigs,  seem to be safe so far. You can get e-cigs online, over the phone and in kiosks in just about every mall in America.
What’s confusing is that the FDA has already approved nicotine in various quit smoking aids like patches, gums and inhalers. As for the propylene glycol, the FDA has stated:
“Propylene glycol is metabolized by animals and can be used as a carbohydrate source. Propylene glycol can be ingested over long periods of time and in substantial quantities (up to 5 percent of the total food intake) without causing frank toxic effects.”
Those using e-cigs whether it be to help quit smoking traditional cigarettes, to avoid tobacco taxes, or get around enormous indoor (and sometimes outdoor) smoking bans, will have to band together to let the administration know how they feel.