The Unknown Risks of Electronic Cigarettes

We’ve made it very clear about how we feel about smoking and back pain, so of course we are in favor of just about anything that would help someone to kick their cigarette habit, but the new “e-cigarettes” have an unknown safety profile, says the FDA.

Called an “e-cigarette,” or electronic cigarette, it contains no tobacco, gives off no smoke but instead is a nicotine delivery device that gives off heated water vapor. Some companies are pitching e-cigarettes simply as less harmful alternatives to smoking, saying that smokers who can’t quit might be better off “vaping” one of their products.

“Relatively little is known about how they’re used, how much nicotine gets into people, what other chemicals are coming along for the ride,” said Dr. Jonathan Samet, director of the Institute for Global Health at the University of Southern California and a former department chairman at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore. “To make a therapeutic claim, you need to do the proper testing.” (via baltimoresun.com)

Last year the FDA released an article warning about electronic cigarettes stating that they are “concerned about the safety of these products and how they are marketed to the public.” While we are in favor of our patients kicking the habit, we are apprehensive about the use of e-cigarettes. At this point the dangers are still unknown.

ZeroSpinePain.com

Tags: Medical Questions