Tensions ran high a mere 4-6 months ago with everyone certain that the Electronic Cigarette’s days were numbered in the U.S.  Maybe it’s time that we all take a step back and “chill” for a bit as it’s becoming clear that nothing is going to happen on that front anytime soon.  I, for one, am feeling a bit encouraged as news of big tobacco’s defeat’s hits the press and the recent plugs that e-cigs have gotten from none other than some pretty high profile politicos.  Read on:

According to a release on the State of California web site just 2 days ago, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declined to sign Senate Bill 400. On September 11, 2009, the California Senate passed Bill 400. The bill was originally written as “The Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program”, and then was amended to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors, which was very supportable. Additional wording in the bill would have also banned the sale of electronic cigarettes in the state of California to adults.

In a statement on the California Government web site, Governor Schwarzenegger made it clear that there is a difference between the freedoms of adults and children. In the letter, the governor made the following comments.

“I am returning Senate Bill 400 without my signature. While I support restricting access of electronic cigarettes to children under the age of 18, I cannot sign a measure that also declares them a federally regulated drug when the matter is currently being decided through pending litigation. Items defined as “tobacco products” are legal for anyone over the age of 18. If adults want to purchase and consume these products with an understanding of the associated health risks, they should be able to do so unless and until federal law changes the legal status of these tobacco products.

For this reason, I am unable to sign this bill.

Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger”

You go Arnold!  Terminate that bill!

Points East, It looks as though a handful of Congressmen have taken up smoking electronic cigarettes!

Reps. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) have all been spotted using the device on Capitol Hill.

That’s about as close to bipartisanship as Congress can get, so enjoy it while it lasts!  What’s more, here’s a beaming endorsement of electronic cigarettes by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL):

“These e-cigarettes are smokeless and do not produce carcinogens. The nicotine in e-cigarettes is controlled in a capsule that can help in smoking cessation by allowing the user to reduce gradually the nicotine level, hopefully to zero.”

Stearns has sent electronic cigarettes to House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and President Obama to help them quit smoking.  He’s been seen using the device in the Speaker’s Lobby, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) banned smoking two years ago.

That’s right folks: President Obama owns an electronic cigarette.  How cool is that?   I wouldn’t count these things out just yet.

…Seriously???  Maybe I just still have a little too much faith and trust in people in general.  Someone uploaded a php script that essentially took my website down for over a week.

My rage has died down to low rumble but this just raises so many questions.  How?… for one thing.  The site is not Wordpress and it’s self-hosted.  Why?  Can’t make it on your own the honest way?  That’s just pure nastiness and I wouldn’t want any part of the Karma that your inviting, dude.

I may not know how you did it, and really don’t care at this point, but I promise you’d be wasting your time to try it again with me.  All of my sites now have 24 monitoring and any sign of “trouble” sets off alarms in a million places.  I don’t care how long it takes you to bring my site down, I’ll have it back up in under a minute.

Get a life…preferably an honest one.

This blog has gotten a little stale and for that we apologize.  The FDA may have won the first battle but it really remains to be seen whether they will win this war or not.  There are just so many contradictions and conflicts of interests… we know, we know.  It’s government, it’ s big tobacco!  Yes, but these contradictions and conflicts of interests go way beyond the norm where most are willing to whistle a little tune and just walk away.  These are just ridiculous.  No need to rehash… read our earlier posts.  So, it’s ok to go to the corner drug store and buy some nicotine gum over the counter but NOT ok to purchase an electronic cigarette that in NO WAY, at ANY TIME, advertises itself to be a smoking cessation device.  Uh huh.  This isn’t over…not by a long shot.

Federal regulators and antismoking groups are striking measures that could snuff out electronic cigarettes, the smokeless nicotine products embraced by an increasing number of people trying to kick the habit or avert bans on smoking in public.

Electronic cigarettes generally consist of a metal tube holding an atomizer, a battery and a cartridge filled with liquid nicotine. When a user draws on an e-cigarette, an LED causes the tip to glow and the atomizer turns the liquid nicotine into a vapor — hence it’s known as vaping rather than smoking. The vapor can be inhaled and then exhaled, producing a cloud that resembles cigarette smoke but disperses more quickly and doesn’t have the lingering odor.

Most electronic cigarettes sold in the U.S. are manufactured and tested in China.  The American Lung Association, along with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, recently called for e-cigarettes to be removed from the market.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved e-cigarettes and has halted 17 shipments of them from entering the country since March 1, said Karen Riley, an FDA spokeswoman. She said many of the blocked shipments came from China, where most e-cigarettes are made.  The FDA says e-cigarettes are “drug-delivery devices,” not tobacco products, and is evaluating them on a case-by-case basis, Riley said. She acknowledged that it’s conceivable that some foreign shipments still are passing through.  “Clearly, the mode of action here is the drug,” Riley said. “It’s nicotine, it’s addictive, and we have some real concerns about that.”   There was no reference of e-cigarettes, however, in legislation approved on June 11, 2009 by the U.S. Senate and June 12 by the House that would hand the FDA the power to regulate the content and marketing of cigarettes, Riley said. President Barack Obama, a smoker, has said he will sign the bill.

In the meantime, e-cigarettes are being sold in Ohio and are unaffected by the statewide smoking ban.  “The ban does not include e-cigarettes because they do not burn tobacco or any other plant”, said Kristopher Weiss, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health. Still, he said, “We don’t see them here as a safe alternative to smoking.”

The Delaware General Health District recently released an advisory about e-cigarettes, warning that they are neither safe nor healthy. Health officials plan to warn school administrators about them and will expect them to forbid their use, said Jesse Carter, the health district’s spokesman.  “We’re very certain that school administrators wouldn’t approve of these things in schools, but what if a young person shows up with one and says, ‘I’m a smoker, and I’m trying to quit and this is my stop-smoking aid.’  ” Carter said. “We think it might be a situation where the policy needs to specifically say ‘electronic cigarettes,’ so there’s no doubt whatsoever.”

“If e-cigarettes become the next big thing, do I think children are going to try it?” said Shelly Kiser, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Ohio. “Most definitely.”  There are concerns for users of all ages, Kiser said. “There have been no scientific studies of these devices, and so we don’t know anything about them. We don’t know what it does to your system when you inhale evaporated nicotine. We know that the best thing for your lungs is clean air.”

Most e-cigarette users are smokers seeking an alternative to tobacco without the side effects, said Jack Leadbeater, chairman of the Electronic Cigarette Association and president and CEO of the NJOY brand of electronic cigarettes based in Scottsdale, Ariz.  Leadbeater said his company distributes only to clients who are of legal smoking age.  “There are people out there that believe that the product is being marketed to children,” Leadbeater said. “Our company and companies within the association are certainly not doing that in any shape or form.”

Some e-cigarette companies have sued the FDA in federal court, stating the agency has no jurisdiction over the products because they are an alternative to smoking, not a drug device aimed at helping people quit.  “If everybody in the U.S. were to switch to the electronic cigarette tomorrow, you will have removed secondhand smoke, you will have removed combustion products” from the market, says Walt Linscott, lead counsel for Smoking Everywhere Inc., an e-cigarette company in Sunrise, Fla.

Electronic cigarettes have become more and more popular in the U.S. as more states and localities ban indoor smoking and hike up taxes on cigarettes. Users have had varying experiences vaping in public, ranging from indifference to odd glances.  There are three large U.S. companies and scores of smaller ones selling electronic cigarettes, most of which are made in China. Sales of the products, which barely registered in the U.S. just two years ago, have more than doubled over the past 12 months to an estimated $100 million, according to the Washington-based Electronic Cigarette Association, an industry association formed this spring.

In the mean time, sales continue to be brisk.  Distributers remain in business and we all continue to watch, sign petitions, be outraged, and wait.

No wonder many see the plight of e-cigarettes as “doomed”.  Did you know that Big Tobacco pays up to $500 million annually to help “fund” the FDA? (Source: Join Together)  This may only be big news to those of us just tuning in.  It has been a long running source of criticism of FDA/US Regulation that these “authorities” are funded by the very companies they are supposed to regulate.

This brings a little more clarity to the FDA’s position.  Why should they let a new, innovative product compete with one of their main sources of bread and butter?

Think that’s ironic?  Get this! Ever heard of an organization called “Tobacco Free Kids“?  From their Google listing: “Working to expose Big Tobacco’s lies, the Campaign reveals the truth about the deadly effects of smoking, tobacco’s corporate public relations campaigns to convince the public that it is a reformed industry, and the advertising and marketing tactics tobacco companies use to entice youth as their new customers.”  Yeah, well they’ve teamed up with Philip Morris to the tune of $3.5million to lobby for the passage of the Tobacco Bill.  Tobacco Free Kids argues that is designed “for the good of the nation” when, in reality, it was designed for the good of Big Tobacco.

For those not familiar with what the “Tobacco Bill” will do, in short it will lead to a ban on alternatives to tobacco cigarettes, like electronic cigarettes, without FDA approval.  It will also reduce advertising so smokers will only remember the biggest, most popular brands, read: Philip Morris.

Of course, Philip Morris has a stellar history with regards to health issues and the public interest.  Here are just a few examples:

•Philip Morris spent $2 million on a domestic violence program – and then $108 million on a television ad campaign to tell us about it
•While saying it doesn’t want kids to smoke, Philip Morris pressured Florida to stop some of its anti-tobacco ads, which have been among the most effective in the country.
•Philip Morris has secretly helped or funded front groups in Florida and Washington that have been fighting measures to ensure smoke-free indoor workplaces and raise cigarette taxes.
•More kids smoke Philip Morris’ Marlboro cigarettes than all other brands combined.
•Philip Morris issued a report in the Czech Republic last year that argued early smoking deaths have “positive effects” because they save the government money.
•Abroad, Philip Morris has hired underaged Marlboro girls who pass out free cigarettes to other children and sponsored concerts where cigarettes were handed to minors.

Message From The ECA President, Matt Salmon

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Electronic Cigarette Association (ECA) is an association of private sector companies engaged in electronic cigarette technologies. Member companies are involved in all sectors of the creation and promotion of electronic cigarettes. ECA’s mission is to provide the tools and information necessary for policy-makers, opinion leaders, media, and private sector companies worldwide to make informed decisions about the management and use of electronic cigarette technologies, particularly the most recent advances and applications. The association was founded to institute and promote industry-wide standards and a code of conduct, work to maintain sound professional practices, educate the public and policy-makers on the industry’s activities and potential, and ensure the ethical use of electronic cigarette technologies.

The ECA needs your help to ensure the survival of the e-cigarette as an alternative to a known killer.

Sign the Electronic Cigarette Petition

Update – 3 of the 4 Producers that we review and recommend are still selling and shipping as of this afternoon.

SmokeFree Pensylvania is urging smokers and tobacco harm reductionists to support a move to:

An Update on NJOY (5/2/09) – Due to the situation with the FDA holding all incoming U.S. shipments, NJOY has had to list all of it’s products as “backordered” on it’s site until a hearing in less than 2 weeks that is expected to clear up the issue. We still recommend them as they are a great company, have a great product, and are very forthcoming with their information. If however, you are looking for a quicker shipment, ie- instant gratification, you may wish to use one of the U.S. producers at this time.

The other producers that we recommend are not having supply issues right now. We will continue to update this page as conditions change.

Visit our Review Page to get started today!

“Smoking Everywhere” has filed suit against the FDA in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for it’s embargo of incoming shipments of Electronic Cigarettes into the United States. This has put several e-cigarette retailers on perpetual hold. Follow this link for further story details.

We’ll continue to follow and post updates here as they become available. As far as we know, the 4 companies that we review on our main page are not having supply issues at this time.

There is an equal amount of excitement and confusion surrounding the electronic cigarette’s burst onto the U.S. Market in the past 12 months. In reality, it has just started to produce media attention, and the beginnings of a frenzy, in the past 30-60 days. Let’s try to clear up a few of those lingering questions and possible misconceptions about the e-cigarette.

The electronic cigarette was developed in China in 2004 and was designed by the Runyan corporation. It was designed to take the place of smoking tobacco cigarettes and cigars because, despite global smoking bans, many smokers just find it too difficult to quit altogether. There are numerous nicotine replacement products on the market, such as gum and patches, but these in no way replicate the smoking experience which has been proven to be a part of the addictive ritual of smoking. The e-cigarette is revolutionary in that it’s aim is to both deliver nicotine to user and simulate the experience of smoking a traditional tobacco cigarette.

The electronic cigarette, or e-cig, in most cases looks just like a traditional cigarette and is made of a mouthpiece that holds a nicotine cartridge, a heating element or atomizer, a battery and an LED at the tip of the device. The way e-cigs work is that they contain an airflow meter that is triggered when the user inhales on the device. This activates the circuitry and delivers the nicotine to user by a short burst of vapor that is inhaled. The LED at the tip lights up showing that the battery is working and also making the device appear similar to a lit cigarette. The vapor that is exhaled may look like smoke but it is actually just a water, propylene glycol based vapor that is odorless and harmless.

E-cigarettes come in many shapes, colors and flavors. There are the models that look like traditional cigarettes and also some that are made to look like fountain pens. Flavors are limitless from Marlboro and Camel to Mint and Chocolate, with new flavors being developed constantly. The cartridges are also available with different levels of nicotine in them should you desire to lower your intake or even cut it out altogether.

There is a lot of controversy and confusion with regards to the legality and safety of electronic cigarettes and the media does not seem to be sorting the facts out for us very well. E-Cigarettes ARE available for sale in the United States but they are NOT approved or endorsed by the FDA. Electronic Cigarettes CAN be sold as “Alternatives” to tobacco cigarettes but they are NOT approved as “Smoking Cessation” devices. Electronic Cigarettes have NOT been deemed to be unsafe by any US or European health organization and parts of Europe have even declared the electronic cigarette to be a public-friendly device.