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FDA probes dangers of exploding e-cigarette batteries

Jan 3rd, 2017
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http://phys.org/news/2017-01-fda-probes-dangers-e-cigarette-batteries.html

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is probing the dangers of exploding batteries in e-cigarettes, following dozens of reports of devices that have combusted, overheated or caught fire and sometimes injured users.

The agency announced a two-day public meeting for April, according to an online posting.

The Associated Press reported last month that 66 explosions were identified by the FDA in 2015 and early 2016.

E-cigarettes are hand-held devices that vaporize liquid nicotine. Their safety has not been extensively studied and there’s no scientific consensus on whether they help reduce rates of cigarette smoking.

Last year the FDA announced it would begin to regulate the fast-growing industry, requiring makers of e-cigarettes to submit their devices and ingredients for review for the first time.

FDA Makes Statements on Synthetic Nicotine

Dec 15th, 2016
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During NICOPURE vs. FDA lawsuit the agency confirms products not made from tobacco are not regulated tobacco products under recent deeming rule.

http://www.cstoredecisions.com/2016/12/15/fda-makes-statements-synthetic-nicotine/

Next Generation Labs, the makers of proprietary TFN Nicotine – a non-tobacco derived synthetic nicotine liquid and crystals – has noted statements made to the court by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the Nicopure vs. FDA lawsuit that confirms products not made or derived from tobacco are not regulated tobacco products under the recent Deeming Rule.

In a response brief to the Court dated Nov. 1 2016, the FDA stated that: “Not all nicotine-free e-liquids (NFLs) are subject to the deeming rule. Assuming an NFL is not made or derived from tobacco, it is subject to the rule only if it meets the definition of a ‘component or part’ —that is, if it is ‘intended or reasonably expected’ either…(1) To alter or affect [a] tobacco product’s performance, composition, constituents, or characteristics; or (2) To be used with or for the human consumption of a tobacco product; and is not an accessory.”

The FDA’s Deeming Rule was designed to extend the agency’s regulatory authority over a variety of tobacco products, which greatly impacts the vape industry. However, the recent clarification from FDA attorneys appears to confirm that the Deeming Rule does not extend to e-liquids that are either nicotine-free, or not made or derived from tobacco, when marketed and sold appropriately.

TFN Nicotine is not made or derived from tobacco, nor is it a component or part of any tobacco product; as such Next Generation Labs does not believe e-liquids made with TFN Nicotine are required to list their product as a tobacco product with the FDA, or prepare a Pre-Market Tobacco Application (PMTA) submission before launching a new vape liquid brand in the USA.

Vincent Schuman, CEO of Next Generation Labs, commented: “The FDA’s statements to the Court seem to confirm our long-held position: TFN Nicotine products cannot be regulated under the Deeming Rule as they simply are not tobacco products. In order to comply with the FDA, the onus is on e-liquid manufacturers to consider how their TFN Nicotine product is marketed, distributed and positioned to adult consumers to ensure a complete disassociation from tobacco and tobacco devices.”

In addition to this recent statement, the FDA has also extended the deadline for the registration and product listing requirements of the Deeming Rule, stating: “U.S. manufacturers of newly-regulated tobacco products who first manufactured those products prior to Aug. 8, 2016, the FDA does not intend to enforce the submission deadline for establishment registration and product listing as long as submissions are received by the FDA on or before June 30, 2017. However, companies which begin manufacturing newly regulated tobacco products in a domestic establishment on or after the Aug. 8 effective date of the deeming rule must register and list immediately with the FDA.”

FDA denies Swedish Match request on tobacco warning label changes

Dec 14th, 2016
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In its first action on so-called modified-risk tobacco products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday rejected a company’s request to remove some health warning labels from a smokeless product called snus.

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/article_c925fb0e-7932-5521-91ed-c08a6ba949ff.html

Swedish Match, a Swedish-based tobacco company with its North American headquarters in Richmond, applied to the FDA in 2014 to have its snus product designated as modified risk, meaning it could be less risky to health.

Snus (pronounced snoos), is a smokeless tobacco sold in small pouches that the user places between the cheek and gum.

It has been popular in Scandinavian countries for many years, and Swedish Match, which sells snus under the brand name General in the United States, argued in its application to the FDA that it is a less-risky alternative to cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The company said it submitted about 120,000 pages of documents to the FDA to back that claim, including scientific and consumer studies conducted over the past 30 years in Norway and Sweden.

The company wanted to remove mandatory, rotating warning labels on snus packages that say it can cause gum disease, tooth loss and mouth cancer.

It also wanted to change the wording on a warning label that says snus is “not a safe alternative to cigarettes.” The company wanted it to read: “No tobacco product is safe, but this product presents substantially lower risks to health than cigarettes.”

The company did not seek to change a warning that says smokeless tobacco is addictive.

The FDA said it denied the request to remove the gum disease and tooth loss warnings because, based on the scientific evidence, “the products can cause gum disease and tooth loss.”

However, the agency deferred a final decision on the mouth cancer warning and the wording change, giving Swedish Match up to two years to amend its application. The FDA said the application “could be amended to support issuance of modified-risk orders.”

Under a 2009 federal law that gave the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products, companies can apply to the agency to market novel products as modified risk if there is evidence they are less risky to health.

The FDA has not yet authorized any tobacco products as modified risk. In reviewing such requests, the agency has to consider a product’s potential impact on both individual users and the population as a whole.

“The lessons learned through these first applications provide key insights moving forward,” said Mitch Zeller, director for the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, in a statement. “For example, companies should carefully consider how they plan to present and substantiate a modified-risk claim.”

“While the FDA is not authorizing modified-risk orders for these products at this time, our guidance to the company will enable it to amend its applications if it chooses,” Zeller said.

Swedish Match called the FDA decision encouraging and noted that the agency previously found that snus contains “significantly lower levels of harmful constituents compared to over 97 percent of the smokeless products on the U.S. market.”

The FDA decision leaves open the possibility that other warning label changes could be approved for snus products eventually, or that Swedish Match could propose other ways of communicating the lower risks of the product, said Jim Solyst, Swedish Match’s vice president for federal regulatory affairs.

“I think there are various ways of looking at this decision,” Solyst said. “Certainly, there are positive elements to the correspondence we received from the FDA. They would like to continue the dialogue. They have given us more guidance as to what is possible.”

Some public health and tobacco-control groups opposed changing the warning labels on snus. For instance, during the FDA’s review of Swedish Match’s application, the American Dental Association urged the agency to make no changes to warning labels without more research on whether smokeless tobacco is “a gateway” to cigarette smoking.

The FDA is considering other applications for modified-risk tobacco products.

Earlier this month, tobacco company Philip Morris International said it submitted an application to the FDA to market a new type of cigarette that heats tobacco instead of burning it as potentially less harmful than conventional cigarettes.

If the product, called iQOS, gets clearance, Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc. — parent of top U.S. tobacco company Philip Morris USA — would have exclusive rights to sell it in the United States under a licensing agreement between the companies.

Philip Morris (PM) Seeks FDA Approval for IQOS Products

Dec 7th, 2016
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http://www.nasdaq.com/article/philip-morris-pm-seeks-fda-approval-for-iqos-products-cm718365

Tobacco giant Philip Morris International Inc. PM has filed an application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its IQOS products (heatsticks that heat tobacco instead of burning it).

Once the Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) claim is approved by FDA, the company will be able to enjoy a significant marketing advantage over other reduced risk tobacco products that are being sold currently. The regulatory authority is expected to take a minimum of 60 days for completing an administrative review of the application.

The heatsticks are already available in several test markets. Philip Morris launched these products in fiscal 2015 in Japan and Italy where it became very popular. Further, there is a steady increase in the number of iQOS purchasers who have predominantly or fully converted to these reduced risk products.

Once these products get a go ahead from the FDA, Altria Group Inc. MO will also be able to sell these products in the U.S.

Altria and Philip Morris have been working on reduced risk tobacco products for quite some time. In 2015, the two companies had entered into a strategic agreement under which Philip Morris markets Altria’s MarkTen e-cigarettes internationally. Altria in turn distributes two of Philip Morris’ heated tobacco products in the U.S.

Further, the companies have decided to partner on a regulatory engagement related to the products. The joint venture has made excellent progress on branding and go-to-market strategies for non-conventional cigarettes in the U.S. market. Additionally, the two companies were working together on the above mentioned modified-risk tobacco product claim.

 

National view: Lung cancer battle raises concerns about e-cigs, other ‘nicotine-delivery devices’

Nov 28th, 2016
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November has been Lung Cancer Awareness Month and a good time to recall an old saying in the lung cancer community: “If you’ve got lungs, you can get lung cancer.” Lung cancer is everybody’s fight.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/national-view/4168141-national-view-lung-cancer-battle-raises-concerns-about-e-cigs-other

It’s the deadliest cancer in America, accounting for 25 percent of all cancer deaths. Lung cancer is also the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 71,600 women will die of lung cancer this year. And you may be surprised to learn that of the women who get lung cancer, approximately 1 in 5 are nonsmokers.

Unfortunately, the false stigma that automatically ties smoking to lung cancer has severely hindered life-saving lung cancer research. In fact, of the $5.3 billion the National Cancer Institute receives every year from the federal government, only 6.5 percent is devoted to lung cancer.

That’s a big part of the reason my husband, U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, is a founder and co-chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Lung Cancer Caucus. For us, and for millions of other families, lung cancer and the need for more federal support for prevention, treatment and, ultimately, a cure, is personal. Our youngest daughter, Katherine, is battling nonsmoking stage 4 small cell lung cancer. And Rick’s father and aunt both had lung cancer.

Of course, the battle against lung cancer is being waged on many fronts, including efforts to discourage young people from smoking. In that regard, experts increasingly are concerned that hard-won progress against lung cancer could be curbed by the growing popularity of “nicotine-delivery devices,” particularly electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, that turn nicotine into an inhalable liquid vapor, and hookah, which are water pipes used to smoke flavored tobacco.

Simply stated, we don’t really know how dangerous these products are or what chemicals and components users are taking into their bodies. For example, we know little about the safety of propylene glycol, a substance contained in many e-cigarettes. And tests have found that some e-cigarettes contain small amounts of nitrosamines and formaldehyde, both cancer-causing agents.

Thankfully, after years of public review and comment, new Food and Drug Administration regulations are being rolled out to address these concerns. Over the next two years, the FDA will be given more authority to require manufacturers to report the content of their products to the public.

Until then, though, the chemicals — and the potential health effects — will remain largely unknown.

Young people are particularly attracted to the exotic and fruity flavors available in e-cigarettes and specialty tobaccos. In fact, a 2014 Minnesota Department of Health survey of more than 70 schools revealed that 13 percent of high school students and 3 percent of middle school students had used e-cigarettes. Those figures are even higher nationwide as these nicotine-delivery devices have become big business. By some estimates, U.S. sales of e-cigarettes and other more-specialized e-smoking products reached $5.5 billion in 2015.

The new FDA regulations will make it harder for children and teenagers to obtain e-cigarettes, hookah tobacco and cigars. Even now, it’s illegal to sell these products to anyone younger than 18 or in vending machines accessible to minors. The FDA also no longer allows stores to give away samples of new tobacco products.

These measures will help in the battle against lung cancer, but we all need to take our own steps to promote tobacco-free families, homes and communities.

Remember, if you’ve got lungs, you can get lung cancer. We’ve all got lungs, so we all have a stake in this fight.

Mary Nolan of Crosby, Minn., is a member of the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program of the Prevent Cancer Foundation and is the wife of U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan. She wrote this for the News Tribune

Big Tobacco wins big with vaping

Nov 14th, 2016
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http://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/big-tobacco-wins-big-with-vaping/

Big Tobacco, with its legion of lobbyists, and evil geniuses, is almost always a step ahead of regulators and health officials. It wasn’t until May of this year that the FDA finally finalized a rule extending its authority to all nicotine products — including e-cigarettes, cigars, hookah and pipe tobacco, among others. The lack of such authority is why we saw ads for nicotine vaping products on TV, and such products sold legally to teens and kids.

When cigarette smoking rates among teens hit historic lows in the past decade, flavored products (from cigars to vaping) filled the void. When the FDA announced the oversight change, it cited research by the agency and the CDC showing current e-cigarette use among high school students has skyrocketed from 1.5 percent in 2011 to 16 percent in 2015 (an over 900 percent increase) and hookah use has risen significantly. In 2015, 3 million middle and high school students were current e-cigarette users, and data showed high school boys smoked cigars at about the same rate as cigarettes.

A separate study by the FDA and the National Institutes of Health shows that in 2013-2014, nearly 80 percent of current youth tobacco users reported using a flavored tobacco product in the past 30 days – with the availability of appealing flavors consistently cited as a reason for use, the FDA reported.

And now, a new, disturbing study shows just how successfully Big Tobacco is cultivating more nicotine addicts, and how belated the FDA was to take action to oversee the new products. The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that teenagers with a regular vaping habit aren’t just more likely to take up smoking — they have higher odds of developing a heavy cigarette habit, Reuters reported.

Vaping devices have been advertised as way to help smokers quit, but the lead author of the study says his findings call that cessation claim into question.

“Our most recent study is the first to show that teenagers who vape not only experiment with cigarettes, but are also more likely to become regular smokers,” said Adam Leventhal, director of the University of Southern California’s Emotion and Addiction Laboratory in Los Angeles.

Rather than keeping kids and teens from smoking, the flavored nicotine products can act as bridge to smoking, said Dr. Brian Primack, a University of Pittsburgh researcher who wasn’t involved in the study.

“… young people who may not have otherwise ended up smoking started with palatable, flavored e-cigarettes — and then after they became accustomed to e-cigarette use, many transitioned to traditional cigarette smoking,” Primack told Reuters. Which is exactly what is happening.

Guest opinion: Big Tobacco bets big on vaping

Nov 13th, 2016
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http://billingsgazette.com/news/opinion/guest/guest-opinion-big-tobacco-bets-big-on-vaping/article_884c6b49-342f-5c15-a43e-70929031020f.html

Supporters of e-cigarettes and “vaping” are trying to block the FDA’s decision to regulate “vapor” products. They’ve used an amendment to the Agricultural Appropriations bill, the Cole-Bishop Amendment, as an end run around the FDA’s efforts to regulate vaping products.

We already know that tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States. We have no solid proof that e-cigs are a safe alternative to conventional tobacco. The FDA seeks to make manufacturers prove the safety of their products before sale.

In the absence of regulation, use of e-cigs and other electronic nicotine delivery devices, known as ENDS, exploded. The trend is particularly alarming among youth.

Words tend to shape how we view issues. “Vapor” implies a harmless gas formed from water. But ENDS emit an aerosol, not a vapor. That aerosol can contain nicotine, formaldehyde, benzene, nitrosamines, glycol or glycerin, and ultrafine particulate matter including tin from the cartridge. The exhaled aerosol is similar to secondhand smoke.

Nicotine, which is found in tobacco products is a highly addictive drug. In a single year, the rate of middle school students using electronic smoking devices tripled, according to data released in 2015 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A different study indicates youth are attracted to ENDS out of curiosity and by the multiple flavors that entice young consumers. Teens were not using the devices to quit cigarettes. Instead, ENDS may be a gateway to smoking and nicotine addiction. In fact, a newly published article in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that 10th graders who frequently vaped were more likely to use conventional tobacco products within a year than their peers.

According to the 2015 Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey, more than half of high school students had already tried electronic vapor products. It’s taken generations to successfully lower tobacco use rates and “de-normalize” smoking and tobacco use. It would be unconscionable for us to allow younger generations to get hooked on nicotine through the fast growing and evolving electronic delivery systems for tobacco and nicotine.

No rigorous studies have demonstrated the value of electronic cigarettes helping tobacco users to quit. While some adults have used ENDS to quit smoking, studies indicate a far larger majority are “dual users,” those who also use conventional tobacco products. The FDA has already approved several safe and effective medications to help smokers quit. Call the Montana Tobacco Quit Line at 1-800-Quit-Now for help in quitting.

Slick ads for ENDS certainly don’t appear to market vape products as a way to quit tobacco. Corporate tobacco has placed huge bets on the future of vaping. E-cigarette advertising grew to $115.3 million in 2014, up from $5.6 million in 2010. In Montana, the tobacco industry spends $30 million a year on advertising.

The annual health care costs in Montana directly related to tobacco use amount to $440 million. Imagine the health benefits to our state if those tobacco marketing dollars and health care costs were spent on improving Montanans’ overall health.

Working in public health, my job is to improve the life, health, and safety of our community using evidence-based policies and practices. For tobacco, that means promoting regulations to limit access to tobacco products, decreasing usage through prevention and cessation efforts, and providing education about the dangers of tobacco. The FDA is moving in the right direction by putting in place stiff regulatory barriers to prove that ENDS don’t cause public harm.

Claire R. Oakley, PhD. MHA, is director of population health at RiverStone Health in Billings.

Forget the FDA: Electronic Cigarettes Face an Even More Hazardous Risk

Nov 10th, 2016
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http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/10/forget-fda-electronic-cigarettes-face-even-more-hazardous-risk.html

As if the FDA’s new “deeming regulations Opens a New Window. ” weren’t going to cause enough damage to the electronic-cigarette industry, there’s apparently a new risk associated with the smoking alternative that could burn their manufacturers. According to reports, e-cigs seem to have a penchant for exploding, causing burns and injuries to their users.

E-cigs have been on fire

Electronic cigarettes have enjoyed explosive growth. Since 2012, the Tobacco Merchants Association says sales quadrupled to $2 billion in 2015,and Wells Fargo expects them to hit $4 billion this year. Yet the industry could be in for a substantial decline.

The new regulations treat e-cigs and vapor products just the same as combustible cigarettes, even though they contain no tobacco. Most devices are powered by a battery that heats a liquid nicotine solution to create a vapor, not smoke, that is then inhaled. Tobacco itself isn’t burned, and that’s where the vast majority of toxic chemicals associated with smoking are created.

Even with the next generation of e-cigs being developed that do use tobacco, it’s only being used for flavor. Both the Marlboro-Brand Heat Sticks from Philip Morris International(NYSE: PM)and British American Tobacco’s (NYSEMKT: BTI) new iFuse heat up a liquid to create a vapor, which is then drawn through real tobacco Opens a New Window. to give it the taste smokers have been looking for.

A heavy burden on the industry

All of the above is of no consequence to the FDA, which treats e-cigs just like regular cigarettes anyway.The regulations will be so onerous and costly, that it’s expected only the largest tobacco companies will be able to comply. Even by the agency’s own estimates, it will cost e-cig manufacturers several hundred thousands of dollars per product and take 5,000 hours to comply. Third-party estimates, however, put the cost closer to $3 million to $20 million per product.

Additionally e-cig makers have to register with the FDA, after which the regulatory agency will begin a two-year review of their products and determine those that will be allowed to survive and which ones will be banned. Vape store owners expect that within two years, the industry will be destroyed.

While there was a rush by manufacturers to get new products onto the market before the changes went into effect, it’s still expected that whatever growth the industry might have enjoyed will eventually be wiped out by strict regulations.

A burning question on safety

But the industry has a more immediate problem to contend with. It appears the lithium-ion batteries used to power these devices have the potential to explode.

Earlier this year there was a spate of news stories reporting incidents of e-cig users who were injured by exploding batteries. Although the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association admits such incidents can happen, it maintains their occurrence is rare and preventable: Only use the chargers that come with the device, and don’t put them in your pocket, since coins can cause short-circuiting.

It’s a well-documented phenomenon that other devices such as laptops and cellphones that use lithium-ion batteries to power them are also susceptible to fire and explosions. Most U.S. airlines ended up banning the batteries as cargo on passenger flights because of the risks associated with them, and the U.S. Postal Service banned hover boards from being shipped by airplane because their batteries reportedly overheated and caused fires.

Most recently, Samsung just stopped production on and recalled every single Galaxy Note 7 smartphone manufactured — some 1 million total — because of numerous reports they caught fire while charging.

“Flaming rocket” behavior

Electronic cigarettes, however, may have a greater propensity for combustibility. The U.S. Fire Administration says the shape and design of electronic cigarettes “make them more likely than other products with lithium-ion batteries to behave like ‘flaming rockets’ when a battery fails.”

The culprit seems to be the lithium-ion batteries that can overheat, catch fire, or even explode, resulting in injury or death. Image source: Getty Images.

And because of their prevalence, such incidents are happening more frequently. Between October 2015 and June 2016, the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle treated 15 patients for injuries from exploding e-cigarettes. In comparison, during the five-year period between 2009 and 2014, it treated just 25 such injuries.

According to a comprehensive list Opens a New Window. of incidents compiled by industry site eCig One, there have been at least 193 explosions reported since 2009, of which 121, or 62%,have resulted in injury or death.

While that still means e-cig explosions remain few and far between — considering the millions of people using them on a daily basis, the relative handful of incidents is small — it’s a problem the industry doesn’t need.

A social pariah

Electronic cigarettes and personal vaping devices are increasingly being treated like cigarettes in social settings, with users being banned from vaping in public places just like tobacco users, or relegated to segregated areas. And not just in the U.S., but in Europe and Asia, too, the regulations are becoming more strict. The Philippines just enacted a complete ban Opens a New Window. on smoking in public, one that includes e-cigs.

Because of concerns about quality and taste (hence the reason Philip Morris and British American use real tobacco for flavor), the growth trajectory of the devices has already declined significantly. After years of triple-digit growth, e-cig sales fell 6% in the first quarter of 2016.

If exploding e-cigs become any more of a phenomenon, that could stub out any chance of survival for the industry, even before the FDA regulations have an opportunity to wreak havoc.

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HARVARD HEALTH STUDY REVEALS DISTURBING NEWS ABOUT E-CIGARETTES

Oct 26th, 2016
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http://newzmagazine.com/index.php/2016/10/26/harvard-health-study-reveals-disturbing-news-e-cigarettes/

When e-cigarettes first made their appearance on the market, they were greeted with enthusiasm and relief by smokers and non-smokers alike. Anyone who expressed skepticism or a desire to learn more about the potential health hazards of this miracle product was met with harsh resistance. New information out of Harvard University has emerged, however, which incontrovertibly links e-cigarettes to lung disease. Apparently, the heavy focus on removing the combustion element of smoking overshadowed the other health hazards posed by the use of this device.

The discovered danger lies in the chemical flavourings used in e-cigarettes – more specifically, Diacetyl, a flavorings chemical that, according to Harvard, can lead to severe respiratory disease. The chemical is found in more than 75 percent of flavoured electronic cigarettes, alongside two other related and potentially harmful compounds used to produce flavours that appeal to a variety of young people, like cotton candy.

This is quite disturbing, particularly given the fact that there are currently more than 7,000 varieties of flavoured e-cigarettes and e-juices (the nicotine containing liquid used for refillable devices) available on the market.

The Harvard press release emphasized that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not tested e-cigarettes for safety and their potential health effects, and, what’s worse, they are not currently regulated.

We are dealing with chemicals that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the flavouring industry itself have warned workers about because of their association with the respiratory disease bronchiolitis obliterans, also known as “popcorn lung.”

“Recognition of the hazards associated with inhaling flavoring chemicals started with ‘popcorn lung’ over a decade ago. However, diacetyl and other related flavoring chemicals are used in many other flavors beyond butter-flavored popcorn, including fruit flavors, alcohol flavors, and, we learned in our study, candy-flavored e-cigarettes.” – Lead author Joseph Allen, assistant professor of exposure assessment sciences.

The study tested more than 50 types of flavoured e-cigarettes. Each e-cigarette was then placed into a closed off chamber attached to a lab-built device which drew air through the e-cigarette for eight seconds at a time. The air stream was then analyzed by researchers and they found at least one of three harmful chemicals detected in 47 of the 51 flavours tested.

“Since most of the health concerns about e-cigarettes have focused on nicotine, there is still much we do not know about e-cigarettes. In addition to containing varying levels of the addictive substance nicotine, they also contain other cancer-causing chemicals, such as formaldehyde, and as our study shows, flavoring chemicals that can cause lung damage,” said study co-author David Christiani, Elkan Blout Professor of Environmental Genetics.”

As more research on e-cigarettes becomes available, it becomes increasingly clear that there are associated dangers which must be acknowledged. At this point, I think we can safely describe them as an uncontrolled experiment on consumers. And the Harvard study above isn’t the only one making noise; a study done by The German Cancer Research Center found that e-cigarettes and their emissions are not safe and that they contain cancer causing substances like volatile organic compounds, acetone, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzopyrene, and silicate, along with various other metal particles.

What Else Can You Do To Quit Smoking?

Aside from developing a true desire to quit smoking, which is the necessary and usually most difficult first step in making any significant lifestyle change, there are a number of steps one can take to quit. GreenMedInfo has put together a great list of options, including the research and evidence that goes with their efficacy.

Health Groups Sue FDA Over Cigarette Warning Labels

Oct 6th, 2016
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Eight public anti-tobacco groups are suing the government to require graphic and grotesque warning labels on packs of cigarettes.

http://www.nacsonline.com/Media/Daily/Pages/ND1006162.aspx

WASHINGTON – This week, eight public health groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S Food and Drug Administration to force the government to require graphic warning labels on packs of cigarettes.

The lawsuit was filed on Oct. 4 in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Cancer Society, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Truth Initiative and several individual pediatricians.

The groups maintain that the FDA is required by law to issue a final rule implementing Section 201(a) of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009, which requires cigarette packages and advertisements to bear color graphic images and specified textual warnings.

On June 21, 2011, the FDA announced the nine graphic cigarette health warnings required to appear on every pack of cigarettes, carton and cigarette advertisement no later than September 2012. However, reports the Wall Street Journal, tobacco companies sued, and those labels were struck down in federal court on First Amendment grounds in 2013. The FDA has not taken up the issue of graphic warning labels since.

The Journal notes that the lawsuit filed this week is asking the court to set a deadline for the FDA to establish a new graphic warning rule, saying that the FDA “has been in violation [of the 2009 law] for more than four years.”’

Across the globe, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates that more than 90 other countries have graphic warning labels, with Australia and Spain including photos on cigarette packs of gangrene feet and decaying teeth.

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