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Proposed Law Endangers Health of Former Smokers
New York State Assembly's bill, A01468, that would outlaw all sales of electronic cigarettes, endangers the health of former smokers who use the device to remain smoke-free.
January 25, 2011 /Cancer PR News/ -- New York State Assembly's bill, A01468, that would outlaw all sales of electronic cigarettes, endangers the health of former smokers who use the device to remain smoke-free.
On Tuesday, January 25, the New York State Assembly Health Committee is scheduled to discuss proposed bill A01468, which would outlaw the sales of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) in New York. The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA) supports a ban on sales to minors, as electronic cigarettes are an alternative tobacco product. However, CASAA's medical director, Theresa Whitt, M.D., says that banning sales to adults would be harmful to former smokers who rely on e-cigarettes to remain smoke-free.
"Banning e-cigarette sales to adults also would deny smokers in New York the opportunity to switch to a safer alternative," stated Dr. Whitt. "The sponsors of this bill seem to have been misled by the pervasive disinformation being distributed by opponents of tobacco harm reduction."
"E-cigarette vapor does not contain any chemicals that present a danger to the health of users or bystanders," continued Dr. Whitt. "The FDA succeeded in convincing the public that e-cigarettes can cause cancer and/or poison users with antifreeze, but they totally misrepresented the facts. E-cigarettes contain no more carcinogens than an FDA-approved nicotine patch, and 0.01 milliliters of the tobacco humectant, diethylene glycol, found only in one of 18 samples tested, is a harmless quantity."
Last month, Dr. Michael Siegel of the Boston University School of Public Health published an article in the Journal of Public Health Policy that reviewed the existing evidence on the safety and effectiveness of e-cigarettes. The article states, "A preponderance of the available evidence shows them to be much safer than tobacco cigarettes and comparable in toxicity to conventional nicotine replacement products."
Several surveys of e-cigarette users reveal that the typical consumer smoked for decades and tried repeatedly to quit, using any and all of the FDA-approved products. Conventional nicotine replacement products have a 5% success rate at one year. In contrast, approximately 80% of e-cigarette consumers use them as a complete replacement for smoking. Over 90% of users report that their health has improved.
CASAA urges New York residents to contact the Chair of the NYS Assembly Health Committee Richard N. Gottfried, asking him to withdraw the bill or to remove Section 2 from A01468 in its entirety, so that the sales ban is limited to minors. Gottfried's office telephone is 518-455-4941 and the fax number is 518-455-5939. Email: GottfriedR@assembly.state.ny.us
Media Contact:
Elaine Keller
703-244-8692
http://www.casaa.org
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