The Food and Drug Administration has announced that ‘an analysis of leading brands of electronic cigarettes, a new type of “smokeless” nicotine product, detected carcinogens and a chemical used in antifreeze that is toxic to humans.’ According to experts, these ‘cigarettes’ contain toxic chemicals such as diethylene glycol and do not help smokers quit smoking.

Electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes, a relatively new product development, are ‘battery-operated devices that generally contain cartridges filled with nicotine, flavor and other chemicals. The electronic cigarette turns nicotine, which is highly addictive, and other chemicals into a vapor that is inhaled by the user. Since they produce no smoke, they can be used in workplaces, restaurants and airports.’

Manufacturers boast that the e-cigarette does not have flame, smoke, tar, odor, or ash. There is also no second-hand smoking. In principle, the main objective of this product is to serve as substitute to cigarettes and help those who want to quit smoking. However, the claim of e-cigarette manufacturers that the product reduces the use of traditional cigarettes has never been scientifically proven.

Taking into account the results of tests performed by the FDA, public health specialists believe that electronic cigarette not only fail to help smokers quit but can even increase the addiction to nicotine and cigarette consumption, especially among the young  population which is the product’s primary target market.  Like chewing gum and candy, e-cigarettes are available in various flavors such as chocolate and mint.

Since the summer of 2008, the FDA has been reviewing some of the imported electronic cigarettes which mainly come from China.

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Via The Washington Post

This public awareness campaign executed by EURO RSG FLAGSHIP for the THAI HEALTH PROMOTION FOUNDATION is a timely series of messages, especially in a country such as Thailand where the rate of tobacco smoking is very high.  Worldwide, second hand smoke is a major cause of children’s illness. However, 85 percent of adults who smoke and, at the same time, living with a child are unmindful that the child actually inhales their cigarette smoke. This gross irresponsibility has grave impact on children’s health. In this particualar visual, it clearly shows that if an adult smokes in the presence of a child, it is nothing short of letting the child smoke herself.

Second-hand smoke, sometimes called environmental tobacco smoke or ETS, contains 40 toxic substances that cause cancer. Some of these killer substances have stronger concentrations in second hand smoke than they do in the smoke that goes directly into smokers’ lungs. In children, ETS is linked to lower respiratory tract infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia, increased fluid in the middle ear, upper respiratory tract irritation, and reduced lung function. There is scientific truth in the popular notion that a non-smoker who finds himself near someone who is smoking a cigarette is more vulnerable to the harmful effects of tobacco than the smoker himself. This is more pronounced tenfold if the non-smoker happens to be a child.

Children have the greatest benefit in any anti-smoking campaign. Kids are affected more with the harmful effects of tobacco because they breathe more air relative to body weight. Their immune system is relatively weaker. They are also less able to refrain themselves from exposure. Even if an adult smokes only in one room, tobacco smoke permeates the whole house because most of these highly dangerous substances are invisible gas.

Via ADVERTOLOG