E-cigarettes: A health threat or cessation tool?
EXPERT ANALYSIS FROM TERATOLOGY SOCIETY 2017
“I think it’s notable that we’re not finding exclusive e-cigarette users. It’s early in the study, but so far the dual users are smoking the same number of cigarettes per day as cigarette-only users, and they have the same expired carbon monoxide levels. It makes me feel concerned in particular about dual use in pregnancy,” she said.
Regulation
One audience member asked what the point of allowing e-cigarettes is since, under a best-case scenario, their effectiveness as a smoking cessation tool is similar to a nicotine patch, and smokers already have access to the patch as well as nicotine gum.
Dr. Breland replied that the patch and gum deliver nicotine very slowly, so they are not as satisfying as smoking.
“The hope with e-cigarettes is that, since they get nicotine into your blood pretty fast – similar to a cigarette – they can more effectively suppress your withdrawal,” she said. “Whether or not that’s true isn’t known yet.”
The Food and Drug Administration has the authority to regulate e-cigarettes through several different mechanisms but, in late July 2017, announced a delay in issuing new regulations that would likely have removed many of the devices and flavorings from the marketplace.
Dr. Breland’s research is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Food and Drug Administration. She reported having no financial conflicts of interest.
