Community Magazine February 2014

34 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE HOW SAFE ARE DAVE GORDON Cigarette smoking is responsible for about one in five deaths in the US, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). And few places in the US have waged theWar on Tobacco like New York City. On October 30th, New York’s City Council made New York the first major city in the United States to ban the sale of cigarettes to those under 21. During the Bloomberg era, smoking was banned in public places, and the Big Apple is spending about $40 million a year on tobacco prevention programs, says The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The city even has its own website dedicated to quitting, NYC QUITS. T hese anti-smoking measures take on a sense of urgency in light of a recent statistic showing that there are a billion smokers in the world, as reported by BBC News and the JAMA report from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The CDC says that every day, more than 2,000 kids and young adults inAmerica become daily smokers, and that more than 1,200 people die each day as a result of their smoking habit. In light of these and other chilling statistics, it’s no surprise that new methods of quitting have been developed. One such method which has been gaining popularity is the use of so-called e-cigarettes – plastic lookalike sticks that emanate vapors when the smoker exhales. There’s no smelly or smoky fumes, and no tobacco is inhaled, For many, the e-cigs have been a channel to weaning themselves off the habit, a replica cigarette that has advantages over the conventional, deadly cigarette. E-cigarettes have quickly become a $2 billion industry in America alone. On the other hand, e-cigarettes, which contain highly addictive nicotine and other chemicals, have also sparked controversy. Research has shown that e-cigarettes pose their own potential dangers, risks of which many users are unaware. On December 12th, the Roswell Park Cancer Research Institute in Buffalo, New York issued what was called a “major announcement,” a startling study that revealed scientific backing for the hazards of e-cigarette “fumes.” Published by the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research , the study explained that not only do e-cigarettes expose the user – and others around them – to nicotine, but the vapor from the device could enter the lungs. The study is touted as one of the first to measure the air concentrations of nicotine and other toxic chemicals (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein) from e-cigarettes. Scientists are currently investigating whether second-hand e-smoke has addictive qualities. Not surprisingly, e-cigs have received a less than warm welcome in several countries. Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico have banned or restricted electronic cigarettes. In the UK, lawmakers will treat e-cigs as a medicine starting in 2016, while France hopes to forbid their use in public. The World Health Organization and the American Medical Association say that they have not been adequately tested for safety. Here in the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expressed concern that some manufacturers may not adequately disclose all the chemical ingredients in their e-cigs, and that the amount of nicotine listed on a label may not match the actual amount in the cartridge. And the New York Times reported that the FDA flagged two brands of e-cigarettes in 2009 as containing traces of carcinogens as well as a harmful substance found in antifreeze. Targeting Teens Because they contain no tobacco, e-cigs are not subject to US tobacco laws, which means they can be purchased without proof of age, especially online. Manufacturers of e-cigs are marketing to teens, selling nicotine cartridges in appealing flavors such as chocolate and