10 Studies That the FDA Didn’t Read About E-Cigarettes

After many months of delays, the FDA is finally nearing the end of the process to regulate electronic cigarettes. The final proposal is now waiting for signatures in Washington, marking one of the last steps before the regulations are implemented. While the FDA has not yet revealed their ecig rules, leaked documents are causing a lot of concern. If those documents are correct, the FDA will stipulate that any ecig released after February 15, 2007 must apply for retroactive approval. This is a lengthy and expensive process that could force many ecig companies out of business.

E-cigarette supporters are frustrated with the FDA’s approach, mainly because ecigs are not actually tobacco products and should not be subject to the same restrictions. It’s clear that the FDA has failed to do proper research or is choosing to turn a blind eye to the facts. The following studies make it clear that ecigs are a positive choice for smokers, but that isn’t stopping the FDA from pushing out their regulations.

1. When Ecigs are Banned, Teen Smoking Rates Rise

One of the FDA’s chief goals is to ban the sale of ecigs to minors, but research shows that it could backfire. In a recent study accepted by the Journal of Health Economics, the researcher discovered that when ecigs are unavailable for teens, they just reach for tobacco products. Ecig bans cause higher smoking rates among teens and that would be disastrous.

2. Nicotine Without Tobacco Could Improve Your Cognitive Health

The FDA is treating ecigarettes like tobacco products simply because they contain nicotine, but this isn’t fair and it’s ultimately not smart. While ecigs do contain nicotine, that doesn’t make them dangerous. In fact, when Dr. David Dominic studied the impact of isolated nicotine use, he found that it has major benefits like improvements in short-term memory, focus, concentration, and fine motor skills.

3. Ecigs are 95% Safer than Tobacco Cigarettes 

American legislators claim we need ecig regulations because don’t know enough about how the devices impact public health. But in the UK, a report from Public Health England praised ecigs as 95 percent safer than tobacco cigarettes. PHE even recommend that England’s National Health System provide ecigs to smokers for free as a smoking cessation tool.

4. Ecig Smoke Isn’t Dangerous and Proves Far Less Toxic than Tobacco Smoke 

We have seen public bans on ecigs in cities across the country, but they make no sense when you look at research. In one study, scientists found that ecig vapor poses no risk to bystanders and contains 450 times fewer toxins that cigarette smoke. In addition, this study found that cigarette smoke contained 1,500 times more carcinogens when compared the ecig vapor. When the ecig vapor samples were tested, they were comparable to normal room air with the same level of pollutants.

5. Household Cleaners Pose a Bigger Threat to Kids than Ecigs

Time after time, the FDA has claimed that ecigs are dangerous for kids. We hear warnings all the time about how ecig liquids can cause poisoning and death for small children. But a closer look at this report from the American Association of Poison Control Centers reveals that ecig poisoning is pretty rare. In fact, the Poison Control Center receives far more calls related to children drinking household cleaners than kids who tampered with ecigs or eliquids.

6. Ecigs Could Save Thousands of Lives

Don’t believe the hype that ecigs are deadly. The National Center for Biotechnology Information studied the impact of ecigs and concluded that these devices could ultimately save lives. The research team wrote that ecigs “may be the greatest advance in reducing tobacco-attributable illness and death in decades.”

7. 10 Percent of Americans Use Ecigs

If you think that no one really cares about these upcoming regulations, you’re wrong. Ecigs are a crucial tool for American smokers who are trying to kick the tobacco habit. One Reuters poll showed that 1 in 10 Americans use ecigs and the vast majority choose ecigarettes as a smoking cessation tool. If ecigs were no longer accessible, how many of these people would return to tobacco use? The outcome is really frightening.

8. 97 Percent of Smokers Have Drastic Health Improvements After Switching to Ecigs

The FDA likes to argue that we need more research before we can endorse ecigs as a smoking cessation option. However, this study has already revealed that the devices have a positive impact on health. In fact, 97 percent of smokers said they noticed drastic improvements to their health after switching to ecigs, including many who reported complete elimination of chronic coughs.

9. Ecig Flavors are Important to Keep People Tobacco-Free

The FDA regulation is rumored to target the eliquid market, but Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos has warned that this could be a fatal mistake. In a recent study, Farsalinos found that ecig users rely on flavor varieties to keep them from going back to tobacco use. He said that flavored ecigs are “important contributors in reducing or eliminating smoking consumption.”

10. Regulating Ecigs Could Ultimately Do More Harm than Good

While the FDA might have good intentions, the upcoming ecig regulations could have disastrous consequences. Dr. Gilbert Ross, the medical and executive director for the American Council on Science and Health, claimed that the most recent regulatory proposal would be a deadly move for public health. He urged regulators to back off and allow ecigs to continue to help smokers overcome tobacco addiction without government interference.

These are just 10 of many, many studies that prove that ecigs are an important alternative for smokers. If the FDA would take time to consider the research and study the facts, they would clearly see that bullying electronic cigarettes is not going to help anyone.