GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Electronic cigarettes are back in the headlines in recent days. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued an order to ban e-cigarette products made by Juul, one of the largest e-cigarette manufacturers in the U.S. An appeals court is now reviewing that decision and the ban has been put on hold.
The FDA has long faced scrutiny over a lack of regulations over the multi-billion dollar e-cig industry. Now, those companies must prove that their products benefit public health, such as helping adults quit or reduce the habit, and not creating a new generation of teens addicted to nicotine.
Juul is being given more time to make its case.
Meanwhile, as most health professionals agree that e-cigarettes may be less harmful than traditional smoking, the debate continues as to whether they do more harm than good when considering teen addiction.
Electronic cigarettes were first introduced in the U.S. in 2006, billed as a healthier option for traditional cigarette smokers.
Dr. Shelley Schmidt, a pulmonary and critical care doctor with Spectrum Health, says that’s sort of true.
Still, she says, “Even if the National Health Service is saying that e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than cigarettes, that’s much less harmful, but that’s still tens of thousands of potential people who could be significantly affected in terms of having long-term lung injuries or even death.”
In August of 2019, the CDC began collecting data on a growing number of lung injuries associated with vaping. Laboratory data later proved that vitamin E acetate, an additive in some THC-containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products was the cause of majority of the reported lung injuries. Less than a year later, in February of 2020 – as the focus shifted to COVID-19 – the CDC stopped recording those lung injuries.
Dr. Schmidt tells 13 ON YOUR SIDE the lung injuries did not stop. She describes patients she’s seen with these injuries as having, “Recurrent bronchitis, colds that go to the chest, people just not able to shake a cold with long-term cough afterwards, their oxygen levels are low where they’re so short of breath that it’s hard to speak to require either high levels of oxygen or sometimes ventilator support.”
Not to mention the impacts of nicotine addiction, which she says includes difficulty focusing, mood and anxiety disorders and a weakened immune system. Dr. Schmidt also says a nicotine addiction can make it harder for injuries to heal.
“The amounts of nicotine in these devices are way over what would be required to help somebody who is trying to transition off of traditional cigarettes and now this is all just a game of addiction," Dr. Schmidt said. "It’s how do we get as many kids addicted as fast as we can and make as much money as we can until the feds are onto us and do something about it.”
Her recommendation to lawmakers? Limiting the sales of e-cigs to adult-only facilities.
“Age 21 to enter, 21 to buy and to try to get these devices out of convenience stores, out of grocery stores, out of places where it’s very easy for young people and kids to get ahold of them,” said Dr. Schmidt.
University of Michigan researcher Dr. David Mendez says the benefits of e-cigs outweigh the risks. His latest issue of “Nicotine & Tobacco Research” finds that vaping will lead to millions of people quitting traditional cigarettes in the next 80 years, approximately.
“The issue is that, if taking those products out of the market will harm a lot of people that cannot quit without them,” he said.
Another problem, he says, is not knowing exactly what you’re vaping. It’s something he says should be regulated by the FDA, like, “What is in there? What is the liquid that is in there? The construction of the device, the temperature at which it can heat the liquid and aerosolize the components.”
While Dr. Schmidt agrees that there are some benefits to helping adults who already have smoking habits, she also says, “Your lungs are really only designed for clean air. Anything other than that is causing inflammation. The question is how much inflammation and whether or not you’re noticing it from a symptoms standpoint.”
Juul is just one of many e-cigarette manufacturers.
The recent FDA ban originally meant Juul could no longer market, sell or ship products. The company can now continue business as usual while that ban is under review.
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