E-cigarettes No Safe Alternative to Tobacco - WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday strongly disapproved the use of E-cigarette, an electronic substitute in the form of a rod which is slightly longer than a normal cigarette, saying there was no proof to prove the electronic version of cigarettes were safe or helped smokers break the habit.

The typical electronic cigarette is usually made of stainless steel and has a chamber for storing liquid nicotine in various concentrations. The device does not create smoke, but vapors acting like smoke. Users inhale this fine mist of nicotine into their lungs when they puff on it.

The mouthpiece of this device, which resembles a real cigarette, contains a replaceable cartridge filled with liquid. The main substances contained in the liquid are nicotine and propylene glycol.

Powered by a rechargeable battery, the e-cigarette is a completely non-flammable product, leading itself to smoking bans evasion in public places. E-cigarette can be used where the old fashion cigarette can not. Moreover, they are not subject to the same taxation, thus are much more affordable than the normal cigarette.

A number of different e-cigarette manufacturers sell the device with false claims that it is the healthiest alternative smoking product for the smokers or it can help smokers quit nicotine without giving up the smoking habits.

But, the US health watchdog yesterday abruptly condemned all those claims, saying the firms selling e-cigarettes should not portray them as a legitimate therapy like nicotine gum, patches or lozenges to help people stop smoking in their advertisements.

"The electronic cigarette is not a proven nicotine replacement therapy" said Dr Ala Alwan, WHO's Assistant Director General for Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health.

"WHO has no scientific evidence to confirm the product's safety and efficacy. Its marketers should immediately remove from their web sites and other informational materials any suggestion that WHO considers it to be a safe and effective smoking cessation aid" Alwan added.

First made in China in 2004, the e-cigarettes are sold there and in several other countries, including Brazil, Canada, Finland, Israel, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey and Britain, and have grown in popularity despite a lack of regulatory approval.

Some manufacturers have even gone so far as to imply that the health agency views it as a legitimate nicotine replacement therapy like nicotine gum, lozenges and patches.

Director of WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative, Douglas Bettcher, says that marketers of this electronic cigarette around the world have used agency's name or logo, for example on their website, on package inserts or on advertisements, which is wrong.

He said that the health agency has sent ‘cease-and-desist’ letters to the marketers telling them to immediately withdraw all those claims and its logo or otherwise face legal action.

"If the marketers of the electronic cigarette want to help smokers quit, then they need to conduct clinical studies and toxicity analysis and operate within the proper regulatory framework." Bettcher said.