Portal latinoamericano de toxicología
Answers to some questions about e-cigarettes
4 April, 2014
The e-cigarettes phenomenon. bbcnews. April 02, 2014. The use of e-cigarettes has surged since smoking bans came into place.In the UK, there are an estimated 1.3m users, compared with 9m smokers.Read previous related news: New research shows that e-cigarettes may not help smokers kick the habit
But what exactly are e-cigarettes?
E-cigarettes come in two parts: in one end there is liquid nicotine, and in the other a rechargeable battery and an atomiser.
When the user sucks, the liquid nicotine is vaporised and absorbed through the mouth.
What looks like smoke is largely water vapour, hence smoking e-cigarettes is often called vaping.
As the e-cigarettes contain nicotine, the user gets the hit that makes smoking addictive, without being harmed by the toxins found in real cigarettes.
So are they safe, then?
The British Medical Association says the simple answer is that we don’t yet know, pointing out that only long-term research can determine that.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency will regulate e-cigarettes as medicines from 2016.
Part of the reasoning for this move was that there was concern the e-cigarettes currently on the market did not meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy.
The regulator has said "levels of contamination" have been found in some products and others have been poorly manufactured.
However, there is a consensus that they are certainly less harmful than smoking tobacco, which is responsible for 100,000 deaths a year in the UK.
Should smokers use them to quit?
They are not recommended by the NHS yet, but there is some evidence they may help.
A team at the University of Auckland, in New Zealand, last year released the results of the first clinical trial comparing the devices with nicotine patches.
The results, published in the Lancet, showed 7.3% using e-cigarettes had quit after six months compared with 5.8% using patches.
What is more, after six months, 57% of e-cigarette users had halved the number of cigarettes smoked each day compared with 41% among those using patches.
However, the study did not involve enough people – just 657 – to prove definitively which is the better option.
There are also concerns that the increase in popularity of e-cigarettes could act as a gateway to smoking, particularly for young people.
The Local Government Association has been critical of the way they appear to be marketed at children through social media and the sale of fruit-flavoured versions.
Are they not covered by legislation?
Earlier this year ministers in England said they would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to under 18s. Similar legislation is being considered elsewhere in the UK.
Wales is also considering a proposal to ban the use of them in public places – to mirror the law covering real cigarettes. Some companies, including train firms, airlines and the pub chain JD Wetherspoon, have taken the step themselves.
Other countries have gone even further. Brazil, Singapore and Mexico have banned importing and selling the devices, even though tobacco is still on sale in all those countries.
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E-cigarettes come in two parts: in one end there is liquid nicotine, and in the other a rechargeable battery and an atomiser.
When the user sucks, the liquid nicotine is vaporised and absorbed through the mouth.
What looks like smoke is largely water vapour, hence smoking e-cigarettes is often called vaping.
As the e-cigarettes contain nicotine, the user gets the hit that makes smoking addictive, without being harmed by the toxins found in real cigarettes.
So are they safe, then?
The British Medical Association says the simple answer is that we don’t yet know, pointing out that only long-term research can determine that.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency will regulate e-cigarettes as medicines from 2016.
Part of the reasoning for this move was that there was concern the e-cigarettes currently on the market did not meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy.
The regulator has said "levels of contamination" have been found in some products and others have been poorly manufactured.
However, there is a consensus that they are certainly less harmful than smoking tobacco, which is responsible for 100,000 deaths a year in the UK.
Should smokers use them to quit?
They are not recommended by the NHS yet, but there is some evidence they may help.
A team at the University of Auckland, in New Zealand, last year released the results of the first clinical trial comparing the devices with nicotine patches.
The results, published in the Lancet, showed 7.3% using e-cigarettes had quit after six months compared with 5.8% using patches.
What is more, after six months, 57% of e-cigarette users had halved the number of cigarettes smoked each day compared with 41% among those using patches.
However, the study did not involve enough people – just 657 – to prove definitively which is the better option.
There are also concerns that the increase in popularity of e-cigarettes could act as a gateway to smoking, particularly for young people.
The Local Government Association has been critical of the way they appear to be marketed at children through social media and the sale of fruit-flavoured versions.
Are they not covered by legislation?
Earlier this year ministers in England said they would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to under 18s. Similar legislation is being considered elsewhere in the UK.
Wales is also considering a proposal to ban the use of them in public places – to mirror the law covering real cigarettes. Some companies, including train firms, airlines and the pub chain JD Wetherspoon, have taken the step themselves.
Other countries have gone even further. Brazil, Singapore and Mexico have banned importing and selling the devices, even though tobacco is still on sale in all those countries.
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Read also related: E-cigarettes face curb in public places in Wales. bbcnews. April 02, 2014.Wales could be the first part of the UK to ban the use of electronic cigarettes in enclosed public places.
Ministers say they are responding to concern that the devices – which can contain nicotine – normalise smoking and undermine the smoking ban.
A minimum alcohol price of 50p per unit is also proposed in a white paper of ideas for public health legislation.
Health Minister Mark Drakeford said the aim was to address some of the nation’s major public health challenges.
"Taking concerted, collective action to address public health concerns remains one of the most powerful contributions any government can make to the welfare and wellbeing of its population," he said.
"Alcohol and tobacco contribute to many life-threatening illnesses and are major causes of persistent inequalities in health.
"I have concerns about the impact of e-cigarettes on the enforcement of Wales’ smoking ban. That’s why we are proposing restricting their use in enclosed public places.
"I am also concerned that their use in enclosed public places could normalise smoking behaviour.
"E-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive, and I want to minimise the risk of a new generation becoming addicted to this drug."
However Richard Filbrandt, e-cigarette user and co-owner of the Vibrant Vapour cafe in Carmarthen, said they had studies showing there was no risk to passive smokers.
"There are studies done by Air for Change in America that say it doesn’t warrant withdrawing them from public places, and they are the same people that said take cigarettes away from public places," he told BBC News.
"Why should we be treated like smokers? Why should we be put out at risk of passive smoking ourselves in a smoking area when we do not smoke?"
Welsh Conservatives described the ban as a "step backwards" for quitters.
Stiffer penaltiesShadow Health Minister Darren Millar said: "There is a clear danger that forcing someone outside into a smoker’s hut will put them in temptation’s way and harm their health due to second-hand smoke exposure."
On the subject of alcohol, Mr Drakeford said there was "indisputable evidence that the price of alcohol matters".
"It’s no coincidence that as the affordability of alcohol has increased substantially, so has alcohol-related death and disease," he said.
"A minimum unit price will make a strong contribution to preventing alcohol overuse and misuse and reducing alcohol-associated illnesses."
Other proposals in the white paper, which will be subject to consultation, include;
a tobacco retailers’ register with stiffer penalties for those selling to under 18swhether to make it an offence to deliver tobacco ordered online to someone under 18, even if the item was ordered by an adulta national register of tattooists and providers of cosmetic piercing in order to improve regulation and set cleanliness and hygiene standardsrequiring local authorities to develop a strategy to ensure toilets are publically available in local communitiesChief Medical Officer Dr Ruth Hussey said: "On the seventh anniversary of the smoking ban, it is symbolic that Wales is once again at the forefront of a new set of radical proposals to improve public health."
Subnote: Analysis. By Owain Clarke. BBC Wales health correspondentIt’s now generally accepted that the smoking ban has had a positive health impact overall.
But as part of what it calls a radical new law to improve public health, the Welsh government is now turning its attention from tobacco to electronic cigarettes.
Sales of e-cigarettes have boomed in recent years – supporters claim they’re much safer than ordinary cigarettes and can help some people quit.
Certain pubs, cafes and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff have already banned e-cigs.
The Welsh government wants to restrict their use only to places where you can legally smoke tobacco – for example outside or in smoking shelters.
Ministers claims e-cigarettes give the impression that smoking in public is normal and acceptable. It also argues that children could be tempted to try them, which could lead to nicotine addiction and be a gateway to smoking.
However opponents of the move claim that link isn’t proven and the proposed law could stigmatise people who are trying to give up.
Ministers say they are responding to concern that the devices – which can contain nicotine – normalise smoking and undermine the smoking ban.
A minimum alcohol price of 50p per unit is also proposed in a white paper of ideas for public health legislation.
Health Minister Mark Drakeford said the aim was to address some of the nation’s major public health challenges.
"Taking concerted, collective action to address public health concerns remains one of the most powerful contributions any government can make to the welfare and wellbeing of its population," he said.
"Alcohol and tobacco contribute to many life-threatening illnesses and are major causes of persistent inequalities in health.
"I have concerns about the impact of e-cigarettes on the enforcement of Wales’ smoking ban. That’s why we are proposing restricting their use in enclosed public places.
"I am also concerned that their use in enclosed public places could normalise smoking behaviour.
"E-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive, and I want to minimise the risk of a new generation becoming addicted to this drug."
However Richard Filbrandt, e-cigarette user and co-owner of the Vibrant Vapour cafe in Carmarthen, said they had studies showing there was no risk to passive smokers.
"There are studies done by Air for Change in America that say it doesn’t warrant withdrawing them from public places, and they are the same people that said take cigarettes away from public places," he told BBC News.
"Why should we be treated like smokers? Why should we be put out at risk of passive smoking ourselves in a smoking area when we do not smoke?"
Welsh Conservatives described the ban as a "step backwards" for quitters.
Stiffer penaltiesShadow Health Minister Darren Millar said: "There is a clear danger that forcing someone outside into a smoker’s hut will put them in temptation’s way and harm their health due to second-hand smoke exposure."
On the subject of alcohol, Mr Drakeford said there was "indisputable evidence that the price of alcohol matters".
"It’s no coincidence that as the affordability of alcohol has increased substantially, so has alcohol-related death and disease," he said.
"A minimum unit price will make a strong contribution to preventing alcohol overuse and misuse and reducing alcohol-associated illnesses."
Other proposals in the white paper, which will be subject to consultation, include;
a tobacco retailers’ register with stiffer penalties for those selling to under 18swhether to make it an offence to deliver tobacco ordered online to someone under 18, even if the item was ordered by an adulta national register of tattooists and providers of cosmetic piercing in order to improve regulation and set cleanliness and hygiene standardsrequiring local authorities to develop a strategy to ensure toilets are publically available in local communitiesChief Medical Officer Dr Ruth Hussey said: "On the seventh anniversary of the smoking ban, it is symbolic that Wales is once again at the forefront of a new set of radical proposals to improve public health."
Subnote: Analysis. By Owain Clarke. BBC Wales health correspondentIt’s now generally accepted that the smoking ban has had a positive health impact overall.
But as part of what it calls a radical new law to improve public health, the Welsh government is now turning its attention from tobacco to electronic cigarettes.
Sales of e-cigarettes have boomed in recent years – supporters claim they’re much safer than ordinary cigarettes and can help some people quit.
Certain pubs, cafes and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff have already banned e-cigs.
The Welsh government wants to restrict their use only to places where you can legally smoke tobacco – for example outside or in smoking shelters.
Ministers claims e-cigarettes give the impression that smoking in public is normal and acceptable. It also argues that children could be tempted to try them, which could lead to nicotine addiction and be a gateway to smoking.
However opponents of the move claim that link isn’t proven and the proposed law could stigmatise people who are trying to give up.