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Tobacco Control <br />Legal Consortium <br />Regulatory options for Electronic Cigarettes <br />Background <br />Electronic cigarettes ("e -cigarettes") are often described as "electronic nicotine delivery <br />systems" in scientific literature. These products, which often resemble cigarettes, cigars, or <br />pipes, are designed to deliver nicotine or other substances to users in the form of a vapor. Many <br />public health organizations support regulating e -cigarettes to reduce youth initiation to nicotine <br />and tobacco products, protect the health of their users, and promote enforcement of smoke-fiee <br />laws. This fact sheet provides a brief overview of e -cigarettes, their potential health risks, gaps <br />in current federal and state regulation, and some approaches that state and local governments <br />might consider to regulate their use, pricing, sale, and marketing. <br />Product Description <br />No standard definition or formulation of an e -cigarette exists: <br />in fact, designs and ingredients vary by manufacturer.1 <br />Generally, however, e -cigarettes consist of battery -powered <br />heating elements and replaceable cartridges that contain <br />nicotine or other chemicals, and an atomizer that, when heated, <br />converts the contents of the cartridge into a vapor that users <br />inhale. Proponents of e -cigarettes, including some in the <br />public health community, view thein as less hazardous <br />alternatives to combustible cigarettes. Others see thein as <br />gateway products to tobacco use and nicotine addiction and <br />support their restriction, or even removal, from the market. <br />Health Risks <br />The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and many leading public health organizations <br />have expressed concern about the lack of clinical studies on the potential health risks posed by e - <br />cigarettes and the way these products are marketed without appropriate health warnings or legal <br />age resfiictions.z In 2009, for example, the FDA warned that "laboratory analysis of electronic <br />cigarette samples has found that they contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals such as diethylene <br />glycol, an ingredient used in antifreeze."3 In October 2012, the World Medical Association <br />stated that "[d]ue to the lack of rigorous chemical and animal studies, as well as clinical trials on <br />commercially available e -cigarettes, neither their value as therapeutic aids for smoking cessation <br />Tobacco Control Legal Consortium 875 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105-3076 www.publichealthlawcenter.org 651.290.7506 <br />