April 3, 2014
The CDC Morbidity and Mortality Monthy Report just reported numbers showing that e-cigarettes are accounting for a big increase in calls to poison control centers.
Here are key statements from the report:
E-cigarettes accounted for an increasing proportion of combined monthly e-cigarette and cigarette exposure calls, increasing from 0.3% in September 2010 to 41.7% in February 2014... Cigarette exposures were primarily among persons aged 0–5 years (94.9%), whereas e-cigarette exposures were mostly among persons aged 0–5 years (51.1%) and >20 years (42.0%). E-cigarette exposures were more likely to be reported as inhalations (16.8% versus 2.0%), eye exposures (8.5% versus 0.1%), and skin exposures (5.9% versus 0.1%), and less likely to be reported as ingestions (68.9% versus 97.8%) compared with cigarette exposures (pMMWR April 4, 2014 / 63(13);292-293
The full MMWR report is available here.
March 31, 2014
On March 24, 2014, Rachel Grana, Lucy Popova, and Pam Ling published "A Longitudinal Analysis of Electronic Cigarette Use and Smoking Cessation" in JAMA Internal Medicine. Their bottom line:
Consistent with the only other longitudinal population-level study with 1-year follow-up that we are aware of, we found that e-cigarette use by smokers was not followed by greater rates of quitting or by reduction in cigarette consumption 1 year later. ... [O]ur data add to the current evidence that e-cigarettes may not increase rates of smoking cessation. Regulations should prohibit advertising claiming or suggesting that e-cigarettes are effective smoking cessation devices until claims are supported by scientific evidence.
The paper was accompanied by an editoral note from Mich Katz, "If Only Electronic Cigarettes Were Effective Smoking Cessation Devices," which said in part:
March 30, 2014
From USA Today:
E-cigarette accidents prompt poison warnings
Wendy Koch
@WendyKoch USA TODAY 3/30/14
As illness reports from electronic cigarettes mount, U.S. poison centers warn parents to store the liquid nicotine used in these battery-operated devices away from children. The warning, issued this past week by the American Association of Poison Control Centers, comes as the group reports a surge in calls about exposure to e-cigarettes and the liquid nicotine they contain — from 269 nationwide in 2011 to 651 this year, through March 24.
Slightly more than half of the reported exposures occurred in children younger than 6, some of whom became very ill and required emergency room visits. Nausea and vomiting were the most significant symptoms.
E-cigarettes, booming in popularity but unregulated by the U.S. government, heat a liquid into a vapor that’s inhaled. The liquid contains nicotine as well as chemicals and flavorings such as chocolate and bubble gum. Users can buy this liquid in gallon-sized containers to refill their devices, many of which resemble conventional cigarettes. The liquid can cause vomiting and seizures when ingested or absorbed through the skin. A single teaspoon in highly concentrated form can kill a small child.
March 30, 2014
The reason that I have been so quiet for the past three weeks is that I was on vacation in Costa Rica (a great smokefree place) for two weeks, then attending the Fourth Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Tobacco or Health in San Jose Costa Rica.
The conference, organized by the Costa Rica Ministry of Health and Interamerican Heart Foundation with support of a range of agencies, brouught together about 400 energized and committed public health professionals for serious discussions about progress to date and how to deal with the tobacco companies' increasing aggressive opposition.
There was way too much going on to provide a detailed report, but in many ways the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries are well ahead of the USA. Here are some examples:
March 6, 2014
Earlier this week my colleagues Rachel Grana and Pam Ling published “Smoking Revolution”: A Content Analysis of Electronic Cigarette Retail Websites in American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
They find that e-cigarettes are being aggressively marketed with health claims and smoking cessation messages that are not supported by the available evidence. Meanwhile the Obama Administration sits quietly.
Maybe the state attorneys general will go after them for fraud.
Here is the abstract:
Background: Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been increasingly available and marketed in the U.S. since 2007. As patterns of product adoption are frequently driven and reinforced by marketing, it is important to understand the marketing claims encountered by consumers.
Purpose: To describe the main advertising claims made on branded e-cigarette retail websites.
Methods: Websites were retrieved from two major search engines in 2011 using iterative searches with the following terms: electronic cigarette, e-cigarette, e-cig, and personal vaporizer. Fifty-nine websites met inclusion criteria, and 13 marketing claims were coded for main marketing messages in 2012.