Special Report: Electronic Cigarettes

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) -- Electronic cigarettes were invented in Beijing, China in 2003 with the intention of becoming a way to help people stop smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes, but they didn't make their appearance in the United States for another 3 years.

According to Graves Gilbert Clinic Pulmonologist M.D. Asif Najmuddin, we might have been better off if they never had.

"In short term it has been reported that it can cause nausea, vomiting, light headedness and even some bronchial spasms."

But those potential side effects weren't even Najmuddin's largest concerns.

Since the product had been on the market for less than a decade in the United States, no studies had been conducted on the device's long term effects on the human body.

"The FDA has not determined this product as a smoking cessation or any kind of medicinal device. It http://www.blackplanet.com/your_page/blog/view_posting.html?pid=3924137&profile_id=65441602&profile_name=clammyquarrel6544&user_id=65441602&username=clammyquarrel6544 is still regarded as a tobacco product."

Wesley Willoughby, the General Manager of E-Cig Source in Bowling Green, offered a different perspective.

Willoughby said he saw people everyday who were able to quit smoking altogether thanks to an electronic cigarette.

"I've seen people come in here that have had strokes, heart attacks, and I've seen them really turn their health around."

But that wasn't the case for everyone. Najmuddin said he didn't want people to get tricked into thinking electronic cigarettes were a safe permanent alternative.

"I don't want you to replace your 30 years of traditional cigarette use with another 30 years of electronic cigarettes because at the end of the day we want them to abstain from nicotine, which by itself has harmful effects on the brain."

A quick google search would have showed that nicotine was far from the only substance in an electronic cigarette. An anti-smoking website, attached in a link to this story, lists 42 ingredients found in some of the devices.

Zackary Epley, a user of electronic cigarettes said he was aware of the contents of his electronic cigarette, and that most of those ingredients had been phased out.

"Now they have so many safety protections in the stuff that we use now, it's almost non-existent."

But according to Najmuddin, each e-cig was composed differently, making them almost impossible for the Food and Drug Administration to regulate.

"There are so many electronic cigarette brands out there, and many brands have different flavors and obviously the combination of various cartridges are different, so I think that it is very difficult and that's why the FDA cannot prescribe it as any kind of smoking cessation or medicinal value."

Willoughby said his business made 3 of their 5 juices in house, and thoroughly investigated another business before purchasing theirs to sell.

He admitted while he felt E-Cig Source did everything in their power to. sell electronic cigarettes with the lowest risk ingredients, he couldn't guarantee every company was as responsible.

"I mean there's 13,000 or whatever chemicals in tobacco and they've been selling those like candy forever, but I just don't feel like it's a good business model to try to poison your customers."

Epley said after conducting his own research, he agreed.

"There's a lot of conspiracy with it and like most scientists and doctors have said there's not enough information at this time, but people need to understand that we are trying. We're not doing this to get on your nerves or anything like that. It is a business industry, it's a huge business industry, and we're here like anyone else, to make money. To help people quit smoking."

As the debate began to spread among social circles, Najmuddin said he wished he could spread one piece of advice to everyone.

"The easiest thing for our new generation is to not start smoking. That is always better than quitting smoking at any age. It is one of the hardest addictions to quit, whether it is any form of nicotine."

http://www.wbko.com/content/news/Special-Report-Electronic-Cigarettes--336370001.html