e-cigarettes: facts, stats and regulations

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e-cigarettes: facts, stats and regulations
In addition to Electronic Cigarette products, tobacco companies have introduced “heat-not-burn” tobacco products. These devices work by heating tobacco instead of burning it. Sometimes the tobacco is treated with a humectant, like propylene glycol, to produce an aerosol inhaled by the user. Manufacturers claim this delivery method is substantially less harmful than traditional cigarettes, but current data on the health effects of these devices are sparse (and most of what has been published has been by tobacco industry scientists).

While these products have not been approved by the FDA for use in the U.S., a new product application for IQOS — a heat-not-burn product by Philip Morris International — is currently pending. Data in foreign markets submitted by Philip Morris indicate that dual use of heat-not-burn products along with cigarettes is, by far, the most dominant pattern of use, which raises substantial issues about what impact they might have on overall public health. Read comments from Truth Initiative® on the IQOS application.
Using e-cigarettes is substantially less harmful to individual health than inhaling smoke from combustible tobacco, such as cigarettes and cigars. However, while e-cigarettes contain far fewer toxins than combustible cigarettes, they are not free of toxins and still deliver harmful chemicals.

While the basic technology behind e-cigarettes is consistent, there is an enormous variability within the product category and there is no typical e-cigarette. The products have different ingredients and different hardware, and deliver highly variable amounts of nicotine and potentially toxic chemicals. This variation makes it difficult to make overall public health recommendations about e-cigarettes and is a driver for the need for regulation. Consumers need to consistently know what they are getting — particularly from a product designed to deliver chemicals by frequent inhalation.