Dear Parents and Community Members,

I hear a lot of confusing statements about eCigs. Below are the facts from and ABC news report. What I took away from this is and other research

  • They are a nicotine delivery system – and though there may be less none carcinogens in some brands – THERE ARE STILL CARCINOGENS
  • They are addictive, because they have nicotine
  • There is widespread use of marijuana oil in eCigs and alcohol in eCigs
  • There is nothing healthy about an eCig and there are not studies supporting they help people quit smoking

Second article is very cool – CVS will stop carrying all tobacco products by Oct 2014.  This chain never stocked any eCIgs and state that they would like to be in the business of health.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/facts-cigarettes/story?id=20345463#5

Though the National Association of Attorneys General today called on the FDA to immediately regulate the sale and advertising of electronic cigarettes, there were no federal age restrictions to prevent kids from obtaining e-cigarettes. Most e-cigarette companies voluntarily do not sell to minors yet vaping among young people is on the rise.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found nearly 1.8 million young people had tried e-cigarettes and the number of U.S. middle and high school students e-smokers doubled between 2011 and 2012.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/business/cvs-plans-to-end-sales-of-tobacco-products-by-october.html?hpw&rref=business

CVS does not sell electronic cigarettes, the highly popular but debated devices that deliver nicotine without tobacco and emit a rapidly vanishing vapor instead of smoke. It said it was waiting for guidance on the devices from the Food and Drug Administration, which has expressed interest in regulating e-cigarettes.

Some major retail stores like Walmart and convenience stores still sell cigarettes and other tobacco products, although antismoking groups and health care professionals will probably use CVS’s decision to try to pressure others to consider doing so. Municipalities have also begun enacting legislation governing where cigarettes can be sold.

Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that the CVS decision was “an unprecedented step in the retail industry” and predicted it would have “considerable impact.”

Ms. Sebelius said that each day, some 3,200 children under 18 will try a cigarette and 700 will go on to become daily smokers. That means, she said, that 5.6 million American children alive today will die premature deaths because of diseases linked to smoking.

“Today’s CVS/Caremark announcement helps bring our country closer to achieving a tobacco-free generation,” she said. “I hope others will follow their lead in this important step to curtail tobacco use.”

Susan Parmelee, MSW Clinician Western Youth Services
949-680-0516