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FDA Issues E-Cigarette WarningBy Mark GearyRelated Content
CEDAR RAPIDS – It's advertised as a way around Iowa's smoking ban. But even though there's no smoke, there are some burning health concerns.
Makers of electric cigarettes pushed the product as the healthy way to smoke. Federal Health Officials say that's not true. E-cigarettes emit a puff of flavored water vapor with nicotine and other chemicals to inhale. Electronic cigarettes don't contain any tobacco, but the FDA says they're still unsafe. Yet, just like traditional cigarettes, people are still lining up to buy them. North Liberty's Cigarette Outlet specializes in all kinds of tobacco products, and just recently started selling electronic cigarettes. "When they first came out, we were selling quite a bit. We sold out of our stock,” North Liberty Cigarette Outlet clerk Gabe Rael said. One electronic cigarette costs about the same as four to five packs of traditional cigarettes and also has about the same amount of nicotine. "It's a great alternative for those that have to smoke, have to have their nicotine,” Rael said. Even though e-cigarettes haven't smoked their traditional competition quite yet, people are turning to them as a way to feed their nicotine fix. "There's no tar. There's no additives...the stuff people want to avoid,” Rael said. Yet, health experts warn nicotine in the product is still dangerous. "It pushes the heart rate up. It makes blood pressure go up. It adversely affects the cardiovascular system,” retired physician Leslie Weber said. And, it's also addictive. "This is the only addictive substance we have that's legal. You can't use cocaine. You can't use marijuana. You can't use heroin. Those are all illegal. Well, nicotine isn't really all that different,” Weber said. But, as long as nicotine remains legal and there's demand for it, companies will keep pushing these kinds of products. The Iowa Attorney General's office is beginning to take a look at electronic cigarettes to see if there are any legal issues with using them in public. On Monday, Oregon banned selling e-cigarettes until the FDA rules on their use. To read more about the FDA's concerns, visit this website: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm172906.htm  E-mail Mark Geary at Mark.Geary@kcrg.com or  follow him on Twitter.
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