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Electronic cigarettes are not harmless.

 

The Food and Drug Administration of America has issues a warning advisory. See below. The World Health Organisation is also concerned about electronic cigarettes. See some of their information below.

 

The vapour which a user exhales is not water vapour. It is not harmless and can contain carcinogens and other poisons.

 

We recommend that the use of e-cigarettes not be permitted in all public places. In the first instance the vapour might be harmful to an empoloyee or visitor to the place. This could be an office, a restaurant or bar or any public place. It is best to err on the side of caution, health and safety by banning e-cigarettes rather than to risk causing harm to someone and perhaps being sued.

 

The second reason is that it promotes smoking behaviour. It hold very real dangers as it could lead to someone smoking a real cigarette. Imagine that in a restaurant there are 20 or 30 people. Just 2 are sucking on an e-cigarette. Some men walk in, observe people smoking - - they do not know that it's an e-cigarette - and they light up real cigarettes. The person in control of that public place is immediately commiting a criminal offence by failing to ensure that no person smokes. This could result in a severe or even fatal asthma attack or other harm to another person. In additon, the restaurant owner could be fined up to R50 000. It is simply not worth all the risks. Preferably do not permit the use of electronic cigarettes in all pblic places where smoking is prohibitted.

 

 

FDA Issues Safety Alert for Electronic Cigarettes
Monday July 27, 2009
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety alert for consumers of electronic cigarettes on July 22, 2009 following the results of a laboratory analysis of electronic cigarette samples.
Testing a small sample of cartridges from two leading brands of electronic cigarettes, the FDA's Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis found diethylene glycol in one sample, and in other samples, carcinogens, including nitrosamines.
Untested and Unregulated
The electronic cigarette is a smoking alternative that is relatively new to the market here in the United States. It is a product that is not regulated by the FDA at this time, though that may change in the future.
Electronic cigarettes are largely regarded as a healthier alternative to traditionally manufactured cigarettes, which contain thousands of chemicals, many of which are poisonous and/or carcinogenic. However, electronic cigarettes have had little testing done to determine the dangers they might pose, so their safety as a smoking alternative is unclear. This alert from the FDA represents a start in that review process.
Electronic Cigarettes -- FDA Safety Alert

 WHO information.

Marketers of electronic cigarettes should halt unproved therapy claims

19 September 2008 | GENEVA -- Contrary to what some marketers of the electronic cigarette imply in their advertisements, the World Health Organization (WHO) does not consider it to be a legitimate therapy for smokers trying to quit.

 

"The electronic cigarette is not a proven nicotine replacement therapy," said Dr Ala Alwan, Assistant Director-General of WHO's Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health Cluster. "WHO has no scientific evidence to confirm the product's safety and efficacy. Its marketers should immediately remove from their web sites and other informational materials any suggestion that WHO considers it to be a safe and effective smoking cessation aid."