The FDA news conference also featured experts who issued strong warnings against e-cigarettes.
Jonathan Winickoff, MD, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Tobacco Consortium, warned that the products seem "tailor-made to appeal to kids." He said the devices could addict kids to nicotine and turn them into smokers.
Matthew McKenna, MD, director, of the CDC's Office of Smoking and Health, noted that e-cigarettes can be used in smoke-free environments and thus weaken the health benefits of antismoking efforts.
Jonathan Samet, MD, director of the Institute for Global Health at the University of Southern California, warned that e-cigarettes are nothing like FDA-approved nicotine-delivery devices shown to help people quit smoking. He noted that e-cigarettes have no proven benefits but very clear risks.
Since 2008, the FDA has been trying to prevent e-cigarettes from entering the country. To date, 50 shipments have been refused, but this has not stopped distribution and sale of e-cigarettes. Canada fully banned the devices in March 2009.
E-cigarette makers and distributors have argued that their devices are safer than real cigarettes, thereby mitigating the harm of smoking. Some have implied that their products help people quit smoking tobacco products.
The FDA rejects both claims. Because the devices can deliver a dose of synthetic nicotine, the agency sees them as unapproved drug-delivery devices with unknown safety. And whether they can safely help people quit smoking is also unknown, while they have a clear potential to entice new smokers with their fruit and candy flavors.
From webmd: FDA: E-Cigarettes Bad, but Not Banned
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