Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are nicotine delivery devices consisting of a battery-powered atomizer to vaporize cartridge fluid containing nicotine, flavorings, and vehicle mixture made of vegetable glycerin (VG) and propylene glycol (PG). E-cigs were originally developed to aid smoking cessation based on the rationale that vapors from nicotinic formulations with few-known ingredients may prove safer alternatives to conventional tobacco smoke. However, such rationale was not backed by scientific evidence that e-cig vapors are devoid of harmful chemicals, and it should be noted that the concept of an idealized nicotine delivery device has been long sought by the tobacco industry to introduce and maintain addiction potential (9). Consequent promotion of e-cigs as healthier tobacco alternatives, smoking cessation, and socially acceptable products has caused a rapid increase in their consumer acceptance among both current smokers as well as previously nonsmoking individuals. Most alarmingly, poor regulatory oversight and wider availability of e-cigs with variety of flavors has popularized e-cig use among highly vulnerable teenagers and young adolescents. In the United States, despite the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asserting the constitutional authority to regulate e-cigs and other emerging tobacco products, effective regulatory policy has been slow to emerge in response to the emerging public health threat. Rampant increase in the number of product designs and e-liquid formulations has made the scientific evaluation of these products challenging, and the resultant lack of reliable data has thus far hampered FDA and other regulatory agencies. Meanwhile, public health and scientific community are divided between two competing perceptions of e-cigs as a reliable solution to reduce nicotine dependence or as a new unchecked contributor to the evolving tobacco epidemic.
展开▼
