Here's the best article I have come across about e-cigarettes from Business Week (see: E-Cigarettes: A $1.5 Billion Industry Braces for FDA Regulation). You may be aware that there is now a discussion taking place about whether e-cigarettes should be regulated and also whether they will cause non-smokers to get hooked on nicotine (see: A Hot Debate Over E-Cigarettes as a Path to Tobacco, or From It). At any rate, here's another slant on the issue about regulation of the product: GlaxoSmithKline is actively lobbying for restrictions on e-cigarettes (see: GlaxoSmithKline lobbies for restrictions on e-cigs, which compete with its nicotine products). Below is an excerpt from the article:
GlaxoSmithKline...says it's worried about adequate regulation for e-cigarettes, and it's pushing Europe to require more. After all, more red tape to cut through for e-cigarette makers can't hurt the British pharma giant, which competes against them directly with its Nicorette gum and other quit-smoking products....[E]mails from the GSK healthcare division's VP of European public affairs, Sophie Crousse, urge the European Commission (EC) to follow in the U.K.'s footsteps by requiring that e-cigarettes be licensed as medicines. The EC is currently revising its Tobacco Products Directive to regulate products, like e-cigarettes, that are linked to tobacco use but don't actually contain tobacco....Glaxo, as well as fellow smoking-cessation product makers Johnson & Johnson...and Novartis..., have good reason to care about the regulatory details, with e-cigarettes predicted to bring in $7 billion in sales by the end of this year.....Glaxo also sought assurances that the amended directive would apply to e-cigarettes already on the market and put the kibosh on e-cigarette advertising. GSK has backed other regulatory action in the past that would boost its product line; in 2011, it supported a move to nix recommendations against long-term use of nicotine gum, lozenges and patches. Still, the company insists its No. 1 priority is safety.
It's great to know that the big pharmaceutical companies are so concerned about our health. Regarding my personal opinion of e-cigarettes, I think that they will increase the number of people addicted to nicotine. I was impressed by the Business Week article cited above e-cigarettes. It was written by a former smoker and he discusses how pleasant and non-irritating is was to inhale the vapor from e-cigarettes. Different flavors of e-cigarettes are offered to increase their appeal to youngsters. Here's a quote from that article:
...[M]ost companies also have less conventional flavors [than menthol]. Blu offers Peach Schnapps, Java Jolt, Vivid Vanilla, Cherry Crush, and Piña Colada, presumably for people who don’t just like a drink with a cigarette, but in one.
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