Document ID: FDA-2014-N-0189-7748
Agency: fda
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2014-06-18T04:00Z

Comment Info: =================

General Comment:I was a traditional cigarette smoker from the age of 14 until the age of 48.  I smoked a pack a day and although I tried many methods of quitting, including the patch, nicorette gum, and medication, nothing worked.  I knew how badly cigarettes were harming my health yet I could not quit.  It  was a horrible struggle.  Then I found the electronic cigarette two and a half years ago and I have never looked back.  I have no desire to smoke “real” cigarettes anymore, and I feel like I have a new lease on life.  My health is back to normal, and I can “breathe” again.  I feel that by switching to electronic cigarettes, I have greatly reduced any health risks.

I feel that putting electronics cigarettes into the same category as traditional cigarettes will be detrimental to many users of the electronic cigarette, and to the general public. I believe that many electronic cigarette users will have to resort back to cigarettes due to taxes and small vendors potentially being put out of business.

Smoking bans are supposedly enacted to protect the public from the harm of secondhand smoke, but e-cigarettes have not been shown to cause harm to bystanders. In fact, all evidence to date shows that the low health risks associated with e-cigarettes are comparable to other smokeless nicotine products.

The low risks of e-cigarettes is supported by research done by Dr. Siegel of Boston University, Dr. Eissenberg of Virginia Commonwealth, Dr Maciej L Goniewicz of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Dr. Laugesen of Health New Zealand, Dr. Igor Burstyn of Drexel University, and by the fact that the FDA testing, in spite of its press statement, failed to find harmful levels of carcinogens or toxic levels of any chemical in the vapor.

A comprehensive review conducted by Dr. Igor Burstyn of Drexel University School of Public Health based on over 9,000 observations of e-cigarette liquid and vapor found "no apparent concern" for bystanders exposed to e-cigarette vapor, even under "worst case" assumptions about exposure. 

Electronic cigarette use is easy to distinguish from actual smoking. Although some e-cigarettes resemble real cigarettes, many do not. It is easy to tell when someone lights a cigarette from the smell of smoke. E-cigarette vapor is practically odorless, and generally any detectable odor is not unpleasant and smells nothing like smoke. Additionally, e-cigarette users can decide whether to release any vapor ("discreet vaping").  With so little evidence of use, enforcing use bans on electronic cigarettes would be nearly impossible.

The ability to use electronic cigarettes in public spaces will actually improve public health by inspiring other smokers to switch. Surveys of thousands of users indicate that the majority of those who switch completely replace tobacco cigarettes with the electronic cigarettes, reducing their health risks by an estimated 99%.

You can find more information at the CASAA.org website, as well as the CASAA Research Library, for more information. 

I am requesting that the comment period remain open for 180 days.