U.S. NEWS - Electronic Cigarettes Declared Health Threat by California Officials Report Says Devices Emit Cancer-Causing Chemicals, Can Lead to Nicotine Addiction
Associated Press
Jan. 28, 2015 3:39 p.m. ET
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SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California health officials on Wednesday declared electronic cigarettes a health threat that should be strictly regulated like tobacco products, joining other states and health advocates across the U.S. in pushing back against the fast-growing device.
The California Department of Public Health report says e-cigarettes emit cancer-causing chemicals and get users hooked on nicotine, although there is still more research to be done on the immediate and long-term health effects.
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New generations of young people will become nicotine addicts if the products remain largely unregulated, California Health Officer Ron Chapman said.
“Without action, it is likely that California's more than two decades of progress to prevent and reduce traditional tobacco use will erode as e-cigarettes re-normalize smoking behavior,” the report says.
E-cigarettes heat liquid nicotine from cartridges into inhalable vapor without tar and other chemicals found in traditional cigarettes. E-cigarette makers say using their products, known as “vaping,” is far safer than tobacco.
“Despite the health officer's false claims, there is ample evidence that vaping helps smokers quit and is far less hazardous than smoking,” Gregory Conley, president of the e-cigarette advocacy group American Vaping Association, said in an email after the report.
“Smokers deserve truthful and accurate information about the relative risks of different nicotine products, not hype and conjecture based on cherry-picked reports.”
The California report called for restrictions on the marketing and sale of e-cigarettes, protections against accidental ingestion of liquid nitrogen and an education campaign on the dangers of using e-cigarettes. California banned the sale of e-cigarettes to minors in 2010.
Other states, including Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arkansas, already have issued advisories cautioning the use of e-cigarettes.
—Copyright 2015 Associated Press
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