ConsumerAdvocatesforSmokefreeAlternativesAssociation

8BiggestElectronicCigaretteMyths
Therearemanymythsandmisconceptionsaboutelectroniccigarettes.Let'sseparatefactfromfiction. Myth#1Electroniccigarettesareathreattochildren/teens. FALSE. Whereitcomesfrom: Legislatorsandantismokinggroupsassumethatchildrenwillbedrawntotheelectronicgadgets,the fruit/candyflavorsandeaseofaccessontheinternet&mallkiosks. Whyitsawrong: First,theyarenteasytopurchaseontheinternet.Acreditcardorbankaccountisrequired.So,unlessthe childstealsaparentscreditcardandthenhidesthecardstatementlateron,theriskofbeingdiscoveredis high.Themajorityofkioskvendorshavealreadyimplementedapolicyofforbiddingsalestominors.The opportunityforminorstopurchaseelectroniccigarettesatthosekiosksisnobetterthanpurchasingtobacco cigarettesatagasstationprobablyless. Second,theleastexpensiveelectroniccigarettestarterkitsrunbetween$35$50(plusshipping)onlineand $90$150atmallkiosks.Thispricepointisconsiderablefortheaverageadult,letaloneachild.Children wouldbemorelikelytospendthatmoneyonmusic,clothesorvideogamesthananelectroniccigarette especiallywhentheycaneasilygeta$7packofcigarettesatthecornerstoreorfromfriends.Electronic cigarettesalsorequiretheadditionalpurchasesofaccessoriesandreplacementparts.Asinglebatterycosts over$10.Heatingelements,whichrequirefrequentreplacement,costover$8each. Third,anecdotalaccountsindicatethatchildren/teensviewelectroniccigarettesasawayforadultstoquit smoking.Theylackthedangerfactor,whichreducesappeal.Additionally,surveysofelectroniccigarette ownersshowthattheaverageconsumerisoverwhelminglybetween3050yearsoldandasmoker1,indicating thatevenyoungadultsdonotfindthemparticularlyappealing.

Myth#2Sweetflavorsandflashypackagingareintendedtospecificallyattractyoungpeople. FALSE. Whereitcomesfrom: Theassumptionbycriticsthattheslickadvertisementsandfruityflavorsonlyappealtochildrenandtheirlack ofknowledgeofthetargetconsumerandtheintendedpurposeoftheproduct. Whyitswrong: Theseproductsarenotintendedtobeatreatmentfornicotineaddiction.Theyareintendedtobeawayfor currentsmokerstosmokewithoutthedangeroustoxinsandcarcinogens.Retailersneedtodifferentiate themselvesfromstopsmokingaids,toconvincelongtimesmokersthattheelectroniccigaretteisjustas appealingasthetobaccocigarettetheycurrentlyuse. Justaswithmarketingcars,televisions,cellphones,alcoholandotheradultproducts,advertisersattemptto makethedevicesappealtoadultswithacoolnessfactor.Studiesshowthat"smokersaremorelikelythan thegeneralpopulationtoberisktaking,extroverted,defiant,andimpulsive"7verysimilartoteen demographicssothemisconceptionisunderstandable,butmisguided.Oftenoverlookedbycriticsinthese adsaretheclaimsabouttheabilitytosmokeanywhereandhaveasafer/healthieroptiontosmokinga clearindicationthattheyaretargetingcurrentsmokersandsmokersconcernedabouttheirhealthandnot new/youngsmokers. Regardingsweetflavors,thetobaccoflavoredliquiddoesnothaveapleasanttasteformanysmokers,asitis difficulttoreplicatethetobaccosmoketaste.Adults,whomakeupthemajorityofelectroniccigarette consumers,specificallyrequestedalternativeflavorsthatwouldworkwellwiththeliquidbasewhichwere mostlysweeterfruitandcandyflavors.About50%ofadultelectroniccigaretteownerspolled(overtheageof 26)1reportthattheyprimarilyusethesenontobaccoflavorsandattributethemwiththeabilitytokeepthem fromreturningtotobaccocigarettes.Theyalsotestifythatthesweeterflavorsmaketobaccocigarettestaste particularlyfoulandfurtherreducetheirchancesofreturningtosmokingcigarettes. Myth#3ElectronicCigarettesallcontainantifreeze. FALSE. Whereitcomesfrom: In2009,theFDAreleasedapressstatementclaimingthattheytestedelectroniccigarettesandfound diethyleneglycol,aningredientinantifreeze.2 Whyitswrong: Independentlabsextensivelytestedotherelectroniccigarettesandfoundnoevidenceofdiethyleneglycol, thetoxiccomponentofantifreezeclaimedtohavebeenfoundinthebrandstheFDAtested.3

Tofurthertheconfusion,electroniccigaretteliquidismadeofpropyleneglycol,aningredientrecognizedas safeforhumanconsumptionbytheFDA.Whilepropyleneglycolissometimesusedinantifreeze,itisan additiveintendedtomakeitLESSharmfulifaccidentallyswallowed. TheFDAtestedjust18cartridges,fromonlytwocompanies.Outofthose18,justonetestedpositivefor about1%diethyleneglycol.4Becausesomanyothertestsfailedtofinddiethyleneglycol,manyexperts concludethatthesinglesamplemayhavebeencontaminatedinsomeotherway.Bynomeansisitconsidered astandardingredientinelectroniccigarettes. Ifelectroniccigarettesdidcontainantifreeze,therewouldbenewsreportsaboutthethousandsofelectronic cigaretteownerssufferingfromdiethyleneglycolpoisoningandthatisnotthecase.Todate,afterfiveyears onthemarketworldwide,therehavebeennosuchreports. Myth#4Electroniccigarettesarejustasdeadlyandcarcinogenicastobaccocigarettes. FALSE. Whereitcomesfrom: TheFDAstatedtheyfoundtraceamountsofcarcinogensinthenicotinecartridgesandthemediaandhealth organizationsusedthatstatementtoclaimthatelectroniccigarettesarejustasdangerousastobacco cigarettes.2 Whyitswrong: TheFDAfoundtraceamountsoftobaccospecificnitrosaminesinthesamplestheytested,whichcancause cancerundercertainconditionsandinsufficientamounts.4TheFDAallowscertainlevelsofnitrosaminesin consumableproducts.Forexample,testsshowthatothernicotineproducts,suchasnicotinegumand nicotinepatches,alsocontainthesametobaccospecificnitrosamines.TheFDAdidnotreleaseany informationonthelevelstheyfound,however,thescientificdefinitionoftraceamountmeansamountsthat aredetectable,buttoosmalltoevenaccuratelymeasure. AnindependentstudybyDr.MurrayLaugesenshowedthat,onaverage,theelectroniccigarettecontained 8.18ngnitrosaminesper1gofliquid.8ngin1g=eightpartspertrillion,anextremelytinyamount.By comparision,nicotinegumtestedat2ng,thenicotinepatchtestedat8ngandMarlboroughcigarettestested atastaggering11,190ng.Thattranslatestoelectroniccigarettescontaining1,200timesLESSofthesecancer causingnitrosaminesthantobaccocigarettesandaboutthesameastheFDAapprovednicotinepatch.3 Myth#5Electroniccigarettesmaybemoreaddictivethanregularcigarettes. FALSE. Whereitcomesfrom: TheinfamousFDAtestingshowedthatthelevelsofnicotinefoundinthecartridgesvariedfromtheadvertised amount.Also,tracesofnicotinewerefoundincartridgeslabeledasnonicotine.Criticsclaimthatmeans electroniccigaretteusersmaybeinhalingtoomuchnicotineandcausingthemtobecomeevenmore addicted.

Whyitswrong: Twoindependenttests,theonebyDr.LaugesenandonebyDr.ThomasEissenbergatVirginiaCommonwealth University5,showedthatelectroniccigarettevapordoesnotdelivernicotineasefficientlyastobaccosmoke andactuallydeliversnicotineinloweramountsthantobaccosmoke. Additionally,smokerstendtoselfregulatetheirintake,asseenbyhowmanycigarettesasmokerusesina day.Whentheneedfornicotineismet,thesmokerorinthiscase,theelectroniccigaretteusernolonger hasacravingandceasesconsumption.Thefundamentalbehaviorofnicotineaddictionjustdoesntsupport theclaimsofincreasingtheaddictioninthatmanner. Myth#6Secondhandvaporisathreattobystanders. FALSE. Whereitcomesfrom: Antismokinggroupsclaimthetoxinsandcarcinogensinelectroniccigarettes(aswellasaddictivenicotine) canbeaccidentallyinhaledbybystanders,justlikesecondhandtobaccosmoke. Whyitswrong: Asshownpreviously,electroniccigarettesalreadycontainatiny,barelydetectablefractionofthecarcinogens foundintobaccocigarettes.Theyalsohavebeenshownnottocontainanyofthetoxinsintheamountsfound intobaccocigarettesandthattheydeliververylittlenicotineinthevapor.So,giventhatthevaporalready proveslittle,ifany,dangertotheactualuser,anydangertobystandersbytheexhaledvaporwouldbe negligible. Additionally,tobaccocigarettescreatesidestreamsmoke,whichisthesmokethatcomesdirectlyfromthe endofalitcigaretteandthesmokelingersintheairandtravelsafairdistancefromthesmoker. Electroniccigarettevapordoesnotbehaveinthesamemannerastobaccosmoke.Thereisnovaporproduced fromthedevice,untiltheuseractivatesitbyinhaling,sonosidestreamvaporiscreatedandthevapor dissipatesveryquickly.Intheeventthatabystanderwouldpassthroughthevapor,sinceitdoesntcontain theirritatingtoxinsoftobaccosmoke,itwouldlikelybebarelydetectablebeyondthefaintscentoftheflavor andonlyforafleetingmoment. Myth#7Electroniccigarettesareagatewaytotobaccosmoking. FALSE. Whereiscomesfrom: Criticstheorizethatmorenonsmokerswillbewillingtotryelectroniccigarettes,duetotheirattractiveflavors andattractivestyling.

Whyitswrong: Peoplestartsmokingfordifferentreasons.Studiesshowthatchildrenandyoungadultsaremoreinfluenced bytheirpeers,parentsandstresslevelsthanadvertizingorflavors.6Themostpopulartobaccoflavorsamong youthareCamel,MarlboroughandNewportfruitandcandyflavorsonlymadeup2%ofsaleswhenthey werelegalandrarelydopeoplecitetheflavorasareasontheystartedsmoking. Consideringthattheelectroniccigaretteisperceivedasahealthconcessionforadults,thehighstartupcosts andtheeasyaccessibilityoftobaccocigarettes,electroniccigarettesareunlikelytoappealtonewsmokersin significantnumbers. Additionally,giventhefactthatcurrentusersclaimthatelectroniccigarettesmaketobaccosmoketaste considerablyfoul,intheunlikelyeventthatanewsmokerchooseselectroniccigarettesovertobacco cigarettes,thechancetheywillfindtobaccosmokingappealingisevenless. Takingintoaccountthatelectroniccigaretteshavebeenshowntobebothlesstoxicandlesscarcinogenic thantobaccocigarettes,ifnewsmokersactuallydochooseelectroniccigarettesovertobaccocigarettes,it wouldactuallybenefittheirhealthandsafetyandthatofthosearoundthem. Myth#8Ifelectroniccigaretteswerenolongeravailableforsmokers,thosesmokerswouldsimplyquit smokingorusetraditionalstopsmokingaids. FALSE. Whereitcomesfrom: Wishfulthinking. Whyit'swrong: Accordingtothe998pollparticipants,only18%respondedthattheywouldusetraditionalNRTsorattemptto quitcoldturkey.Nearly20%saidtheywouldswitchtoothertobaccoalternatives,suchassnusorsnuff;anda whopping61%indicatedtheywouldmostlikelyresumesmokingcigarettes.1
Sources: 1. Consumer Advocates for Smokefree Alternatives, Electronic Cigarette User Poll, CASAA.org 2. US Food & Drug Administration, FDA and Public Health Experts Warn About Electronic Cigarettes, FDA.gov 3. Health New Zealand, Dr. Murray Laugesen, Safety report on the Ruyan e-cigarette Cartridge and inhaled Aerosol, HealthNZ.co.na 4. US Food & Drug Administration, Final Report on FDA Analyses, FDA.gov 5. Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr. Thomas Eissenberg, Study Reveals a Need to Evaluate and Regulate 'Electronic Cigarettes' "Electronic cigarettes" fail to deliver nicotine , News.vcu.edu 6. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Differentiating Stages of Smoking Intensity Among Adolescents: StageSpecific Psychological and Social Influences, APA.org 7. Dr. Michael Rabinoff, "Ending the Tobacco Holocaust, How Big Tobacco affects our health, pocketbook and political freedom, and what we can do about it." Elite Books, Copyright 2006
CASAAs mission is to ensure the availability of effective, affordable and reduced harm alternatives to smoking by increasing public awareness and education; to encourage the testing and development of products to achieve acceptable safety standards and reasonable regulation; and to promote the benefits of reduced harm alternatives. CASAA is a volunteer, non-profit consumer organization and receives no compensation from any tobacco, pharmaceutical or electronic cigarette companies.