Nearly 50 million U.S. adults—more than a fifth of the total adult population—smoke cigarettes. After vigorous public health efforts including taxes, education, and outright bans on smoking, the percentage of Americans who smoke has fallen by almost half in the past four decades.
In recent years, however, the number of Americans quitting cigarettes has begun to level off. No particular therapy is more than about 8 percent effective in causing smoking cessation. Consequently, some doctors and scientists suggest a “harm reduction” strategy in which smokers give up cigarettes but continue using tobacco or nicotine in different forms such as “e-cigarettes” and smokeless tobacco.
Electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigarettes,” have quickly become one of the most popular nicotine replacement products and a key building block in harm reduction strategies.
According to the Wall Street Journal sales of e-cigarettes have doubled in the United States over the last five years, moving from $250 to $500 million in total sales. An e-cigarette vaporizes a solution of either propylene glycol or glycerin with a weak concentration of nicotine; this simulates the act of smoking and gives smokers their nicotine fix while eliminating the harmful compounds found in tobacco smoke.
Despite these benefits, some public health crusaders argue e-cigarettes should be banned. In the past year at least six states have proposed legislation to prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, and four states would add e-cigarettes to products covered under smoking bans.
These critics and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration claim chemicals found in e-cigarette vapor could cause health problems. They also argue the main focus of tobacco policy should be the end of all nicotine use, regardless of source.
Supporters of the freedom to use e-cigarettes argue the devices are a viable nicotine replacement therapy. E-cigarettes mimic many of the physiological and psychological triggers of smoking without transmitting the toxins present in tobacco smoke.
E-cigarette advocates also note the FDA’s acceptance of similar nicotine replacement products at similar concentrations and point to the flawed methodology of studies showing dangers from e-cigarettes. The American Association of Public Health Physicians has concluded e-cigarettes might “save the lives of 4 million of the 8 million current adult American smokers.”
The following articles examine electronic cigarettes and tobacco harm reduction from multiple perspectives.
Originally written By Matthew Glans
