Public Health advises against uses of e-cigarettes

The Division of Public Health has advised against the use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems or ENDS.

It said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved ENDS, also known as e-cigarettes or vapes, as a safe smoking cessation tool.

Additionally, DPH and FDA said:

• Nicotine poses dangers to pregnant women and fetuses, children, and adolescents. Youth use of nicotine in any form, including ENDS, is unsafe.
• Nicotine is highly addictive.
• Nicotine is toxic to developing fetuses and impairs fetal brain and lung development.
• Because the adolescent brain is still developing, nicotine use during adolescence can disrupt the formation of brain circuits that control attention, learning, and susceptibility to addiction.
• Poisonings have resulted among users and non-users due to ingestion of nicotine liquid, absorption through the skin, and inhalation.
• E-cigarette exposure calls to poison centers increased from one per month in September 2010 to 215 per month in February 2014, and over half of those calls were regarding children ages 5 and under.
• According to the Surgeon General, the evidence is already sufficient to warn pregnant women, women of reproductive age, and adolescents about the use of nicotine-containing products such as smokeless tobacco, dissolvables, and ENDS as alternatives to smoking.

DPH and FDA said e-cigarettes have not been fully studied, so consumers currently don’t know potential risks of e-cigarettes when used as intended, how much nicotine or other potentially harmful chemicals are being inhaled during use, or whether there are any benefits associated with using these products.

It is also possible that the use of e-cigarettes leads young people to try other tobacco products, including conventional cigarettes.

In the U.S. nationwide, e-cigarette use among middle and high school students tripled from 2013 to 2014, according to data published by the CDC and the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).

The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. has prohibited the use of ENDS on premises since 2015, and, due to the recent signing of Public Law 19-32 it is now illegal to use e-cigarettes in places where smoking is prohibited by the Smoke-Free Air Act.

The Smoke-Free Air Act of 2008 or Public Law 16-46, which now includes e-cigarettes, prohibits smoking in government buildings and vehicles, public places, places of employment, and school and college campuses.

To report a suspected violation of the Smoke-Free Air Act, visit www.chcc.gov.mp and click on the banner of the smoke-free symbol titled “Clean Air Violations” to file a complaint. Alternatively, if you wish to report a violation via telephone, call (670) 323-QUIT (7848).

To learn more about ENDS, and for more about the research behind the facts stated in this article, read the “Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems: Key Facts” from the CDC Office on Smoking and Health found at the following link:

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/stateandcommunity/pdfs/ends-key-facts2015.pdf

The FDA has approved over-the-counter nicotine replacement products, including nicotine patches, nicotine gum, and nicotine lozenges, and some prescription-only smoking cessation tools. For free help to quit, call (670) 323-QUIT (7848). (PR)