The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is currently making another attempt to regulate tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes (e-cigs). The agency has proposed some rules that calls for the regulation of these products although they only have regulatory authority over smokeless tobacco, cigarettes, and roll your own tobacco. After these recommendations become final following a standard 75-day public comment period, it’s expected that the age limit is going to be at least 18.

The FDA would also require health warnings on the labels and ads of such products and at the same time, they will not be allowed in vending machines. Initially, for e-cigs, the only required health warning would be that these products have the capacity to induce nicotine addiction.

In line with this, manufacturers will be required to register the ingredients for their products with the agency. Marketing will only be allowed after they receive an FDA review and would need to provide solid scientific evidence before they can make or imply claims that the product can indeed reduce the risk of cigarette smoking.

Electronic cigarettes work by delivering nicotine in the form of vapor. They are battery operated and come with a replaceable cartridge where the nicotine is stored. Upon heating, the nicotine liquid vaporizes and inhaled by the user.Most e-cigs are designed to look like cigarettes, pipes or cigars but they may also resemble USB sticks and pens. Due to the fact that e-cigs have not been thoroughly studied, the health risks are still unknown, including how much chemicals like nicotine are being inhaled and whether or not the products are really beneficial.

In the previous year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report saying that the high school students using e-cigs have doubled, causing significant concern among the general public. Due to its increase in popularity, more and more groups are making complaints. Based on a recent report, poison control centers across the country have received 215 calls in February alone, with 51% involving kids.

We must remember that nicotine is a drug and experts have suggested the liquid form that is being used in e-cigs is toxic even when inhaled in miniscule doses. Not only does it get absorbed through inhalation but it also penetrates the body through the skin. The questions that people are asking are:

How concentrated is the liquid nicotine used in e-cigs?

Do these contain impurities?

Do manufacturers properly handle it in the same way pesticide is being handled?

Harold Wimmer, the American Lung Association’s president and CEO firmly believes that nicotine is very addictive. So whether it’s being used in a regular cigarette or in an electronic cigarette, the dangers are still present.

For individuals suffering from nicotine addiction, doctors may advise nicotine replacement treatments. In fact, the NRTs were the very first treatments approved by the FDA and these include nicotine chewing gum, nicotine transdermal patches, sprays, lozenges and inhalers. One can also take non-nicotine medications such as Bupropion and Varenicline to help abstain from smoking.