The Facts About Electronic Cigarettes
On behalf of the Electronic Cigarette Association and its members, I am sending you this educational packet. It outlines our position as an industry association and provides information about electronic cigarettes to guide your deliberations about these products. We believe it is important to review the facts about these devices before making any decision that will affect the adult consumers who use these products as an alternative to combustible tobacco cigarettes.
In the following packet you will find a wealth of information and links to resources that will assist you as you address these critical issues. By reviewing this material, we hope you will come to understand the following about electronic cigarettes:
1) ECA members do not—according to each state law and as a condition of their membership in the association—market or sell their products to individuals below the legal smoking age of 18. We understand the sensitivity associated with advertising and marketing campaigns and their potential influence on minors. For this reason, we welcome the opportunity to work with you to put into place safeguards that ensure these products are not sold to minors. Many ECA companies request that retailers place
their product out of reach of the general public, generally behind the cash register counter, and request identification from consumers to verify legal age. These companies developed their products for long-term, committed smokers who are, for a variety of reasons, unable or unwilling to quit smoking and want an alternative that will satisfy their need for nicotine but not expose them to the toxic and carcinogenic chemicals found in combustible cigarettes.
2) We understand that nicotine is a highly addictive substance. The position of the Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom is informative and instructive as it relates to electronic cigarettes. It makes clear that while nicotine can be addictive, when it is ingested alone, there are no known adverse effects like those that occur through traditional tobacco delivery. It should be clear that, while they provide an alternative to combustible cigarettes, electronic cigarettes are not marketed as smoking cessation products. Companies that join the ECA pledge that they will not make cessation or health claims about their products. These companies readily acknowledge that cigarette smoking is an unhealthy habit and encourage smokers to quit.
3) Banning electronic cigarettes and treating them as tobacco products is not fair to the many consumers who use these products legally and for their intended use. Forcing adults to use electronic cigarettes in designated smoking areas is not only unfair but also unnecessary, as there is no associated threat of secondhand smoke. Many of the more than one million consumers of electronic cigarettes report that they appreciate having a product they can use in public that will neither annoy nor expose others to secondhand smoke. They are also able to use electronic cigarettes in the workplace without decreasing their productivity.
We look forward to working with you to determine how best to approach the sale and use of electronic cigarettes in your jurisdiction. An outright ban of this product is unwarranted and only punishes your constituents who are committed smokers, many of whom are looking for an alternative to a product whose lethal health risks and effects are well-documented.
It is our request and hope that you will hear both sides of this issue and consider the desires of citizens who want to avoid the toxic substances found in cigarettes and have turned to electronic cigarettes as an alternative until they have the desire or willpower to change their unhealthy lifestyle.
I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you and answer any questions you might have. You can reach me at 202.587.5593 or email me.
Sincerely,
Matt Salmon
President
Electronic Cigarette Association
Download The Entire “Facts About Electronic Cigarettes” Educational Packet PDF
Electronic Cigarette News - May 2010
- Sign Petition to Public Health Organizations to Stop Fighting Against Electronic Cigarettes A Petition for the AAP, ACS, AHA, American Legacy Foundation, ALA, AMA, ASH, FDA, Public Citizen and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to change their policy and support the sale and use of ecigarettes as a reduced harm option for committed adult smokers.
- Survey Shows Electronic Cigarettes Reduce Tobacco Use
- Virginia AG Says E-Cigarette OK in Non-Smoking Areas
Electronic Cigarette News - March 2010
- New York Residents – Protect Your Right To Vape If you live in NY, take action now to ensure you can continue buying and using the electronic cigarette.
- Illinois Trying To Limit Smokers Options If SB3174 passes, the electronic cigarette that contains nicotine would not be allowed to be sold in Illinois until such time that it is FDA approved
Electronic Cigarette News - February 2010
- Utah Residents….TAKE ACTION The Utah State Legislature is attempting to ban electronic cigarettes. Act NOW!
- Submit Your Opinion About UK Regulations Regarding The Electronic Cigarette The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the UK is asking UK residence for their opinion about regulations regarding the electronic cigarette
Electronic Cigarette News - January 2010
- ECA Creates Expanded Member Regulations
- Judge Overrules FDA On E-Cigarettes A great article that includes insights into the new FDA regulatory control of tobacco products
- Federal Judge: FDA Has No Authority Over Electronic Cigarettes
- Study Demonstrates NJOY Electronic Cigarette Inhalants Do Not Contain Carcinogenic TSNAs
Electronic Cigarette News - November 2009
- As Smoking Rates Rise, Electronic Cigarettes Offer Viable Alternative to Harmful Combustible Tobacco
- What if there were an alternative to smoking? ECA asks “What if?”
- The Electronic Cigarette Struggles Against Anti-smoking Groups and Government Organizations
- E-Cigarettes Under Fire
- Electronic Cigarette Association Urges Unbiased Evaluation of E-cigarettes as Debate Intensifies Around These Devices
- Opposing view: A much-needed alternative by Matt Salmon
- ECA Information Packet About Electronic Cigarettes The Facts About Electronic Cigarettes
Electronic Cigarette News - October 2009
- Battle brewing over electronic cigarettes from cjonline.com
- Interview with James Watt, Electronic Cigarette Association Vice Chair
- Firestorm over smokeless cigarette By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY
- Are Safer Cigarettes a Corporate Ploy, and FDA Mistake? The presence of e-cigarettes essentially nullifies the entire FDA search for a safer cigarette. – Michael Siegel
- Battery-powered cigarettes catch on with consumers BY PATRICIA ANSTETT, FREE PRESS MEDICAL WRITER
- Electronic cigarettes: In need of FDA regulation? – Christian Science Monitor Article
- Council votes to boost butts Elizabeth Kilgore, acting assistant commissioner of tobacco control at the NYC Department of Health, says smokers who have tried to quit but failed should just keep on trying again and again rather than try snus or e-cigarettes. It is a quit-or-die dogma
- ASH UK on Electronic Cigarettes
- Montana's Smoking Ban and Electronic Cigarettes The devices [electronic cigarettes] are not specifically mentioned in the act and are legal under the state’s smoking ban.
- Matt Salmon Q&A at vapersplace.com on Sunday November 8th at 7:00pm EST
Electronic Cigarette News - September 2009
- Lighting up electronically - UPI.com
- Electronic Cigarette Association Requires Members to Include Product Warnings
- FDA’s drug and e-cigarette warnings counterproductive By Jeff Stier, associate director, American Council on Science and Health
Electronic Cigarette News - August 2009
- American Association of Public Health Physicians writes on behalf of Electronic Cigarettes to the Incoming Director of the FDA A letter from Joel L. Nitzkin, MD and Kevin Sherin, MD to the Director of the FDA
- Associate Level Membership with Lower Dues now Available – The ECA now offers a more affordable option for smaller suppliers to join the cause in helping the electronic cigarette industry.
- ECA Letter To Congress by Matt Salmon, Electronic Cigarette Association President
- California lawmaker seeks adults-only restriction on smokeless 'cigarettes' – The ECA supports actions to prevent minors from buying nicotine in any form
- Technical Review and Analysis of FDA Report: “Evaluation of e-cigarettes” by Janci Chunn Lindsay, Ph.D., Exponent Health Sciences, Toxicology and Mechanistic Biology Division
- FDA smoke screen on e-cigarettes in Washington Times by Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health
Electronic Cigarette News - July 2009
- The Electronic Cigarette Association's Response To The FDA
- Disingenuousness of the FDA's Press Conference is Concerning; FDA and Anti-Smoking Groups are Committing Medical Malpractice on a Massive Scale by Michael Siegel, MD, MPH, Professor at the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health
- Prominent Public Health Physicians and Tobacco Researchers Expose Double Standard in the FDA’s Recent Study of Electronic Cigarettes and Challenge the FDA’s Alarmist Attitude Toward the Devices by Michael Siegel, MD, MPH, Professor at the Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health and Joel L. Nitzkin, MD, MPH, DPA, Chair AAPHP Tobacco Control Task Force and Brad Rodu, Professor of Medicine, Endowed Chair,