Why I hate lawyers!

achieve

After reading this article.............

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/ [space] lawyer-e-cigs-pose-possible-health-risk-188852.html

Note, I have inserted [space] so as not to give this article any "link juice". In my opinion it's the lawyers themselves that should carry the warning label. Article is complete trash.

tommy2bad

Liam Moloney, who is based in Naas, Co Kildare, looked up their website, I think the term ambulance chasers is what came to mind. He has copied from the FDAs 2009 report and tried to drum up some business or worse he in the employ of someone who has an agenda.

The Department of Health said it was up to the manufacturer to ensure the product was safe. It said it had no role in regulating the devices.
Well thats good anyway.

eeloe

I think we're a few years off the regulation of this stuff anyway...the only thing that's worrying me is if they work out a way to brandish ejuice under the same branch as tobacco and put excise duty on it!

stevenmu

I just sent a letter to editor@examiner.ie

Dear Sir,

As an avid 'E-cig' user, I would like to address some of the points raised in the article "Lawyer: ‘E-cigs’ pose possible health risk" published last Friday (30/03/2012), as I believe it lacks some important information.

Most importantly I believe that the article overlooks the extremely important fact that e-cigarettes have helped countless people, myself included, to quit smoking tobacco cigarettes. The dangers of smoking real cigarettes are well known, but to highlight a tiny fraction of their contents, they contain ammonia, arsenic, benzine, carbon monoxide, cyanide, formaldehyde, lead, mercury, polonium (a radioactive heavy metal). Not to mention Tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNAs, powerful carcinogens), Whole Tobacco Alkaloids (chemicals very similar to opiates), and countless other carcinogens caused by the burning of organic material.

In contrast, the liquids used with e-cigarettes typically contain just nicotine, tiny amounts of food flavourings, and a base liquid of either Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegtable Glycerin(VG), or both. Both PG and VG are found in a huge variety of food stuffs. Additionally PG is commonly used in asthma inhalers and fog machines. While studies on the long term effects of e-cigarettes use are on-going, there is currently no indication that they do any harm at all to users, and the current scientific consensus is that any possible harm done would be infinitesimal compared to the damage cause by cigarette smoking.

(Interestingly the effects of nicotine on the body are very well known thanks to smoking research. While it is a powerful toxin in concentrated doses, in the types of concentrations used by cigarette smokers and e-cigarettes users it is rapidly processed and disposed of by the body and causes no harm at all. In fact several studies suggest that apart from the addiction it develops, it is actually beneficial to the body)

The article above mentions several "symptoms", namely "racing pulse, dizziness, slurred speech, mouth ulcers, heartburn, sore throat, and coughing". It should be noted that most of these are symptoms associated with giving up cigarettes. As mentioned above cigarettes contain many toxic chemicals, and it is common for new e-cigarettes users to experience withdrawal symptoms when they first stop smoking. The more severe symptoms typically last 2 to 3 days, with coughing and mild cold like symptoms lasting possibly a week or two. Given that these symptoms are a natural side effect of smoking cessation, on the whole I feel that they are a good thing.

Tobacco cigarette mortality is estimated to be roughly 50%, that means that 1 out of every 2 smokers will die prematurely of a smoking related illness. I firmly believe that anything which causes people to stop smoking can only be beneficial, both to them and to society as a whole, and currently e-cigarettes are the most powerful and effective tool available to encourage this.

In response to the alleged fire hazard, I believe it is important to point out that the device in question was not a typical manufactured "over the counter" device, but was actually a homemade DIY device (known in the e-cigarettes community as a "mod"). In particular I believe that that this device used "un-protected" lithium ion batteries in a "stacked" configuration. Lithium ion batteries are used in many modern devices, but are known to have an inherent fire risk. Most people have heard the stories of laptops and mobile phones catching fire or exploding. To combat this manufacturers have developed protection circuitry to prevent the conditions which cause the batteries to over heat, making them effectively safe. Typical manufactured e-cigarettes use either lithium polymer ("safe chemistry") or protected lithium ion batteries, with more powerful devices containing their own additional protective circuitry. Standard manufactured e-cigarettes are typically as safe as a normal laptop or the mobile phone which many people hold to their heads every day (in fact because they are not usually subject to a constant power drain they are actually much safer). But unfortunately some people do build their own devices which do not always contain the required safety features.

It is worth noting that any devices (or liquids) manufactured in the EU are subject to the standard EU regulations governing consumer products and such devices will bear the CE mark and be subject to it's standards.

Finally the article mentions claims that e-cigarettes have been sold to children. I have never heard of a single case of children getting access to e-cigarettes. Without any substantiation I fear that this is just sensationalism and scaremongering. If such a thing were to happen I would condemn it utterly and I'm sure the entire e-cigarette user community, including the manufacturers and retailers would do the same. Personally I do not believe that they hold much appeal to children, while cheaper than cigarettes in the long run they have a relatively high cost of entry, they also do not have the "cool" factor or dangerous appeal of cigarettes.

E-cigarettes have been of enormous benefit, both to myself, and to countless others who have used them as a safe and effective way of giving up smoking. While I am still a nicotine addict, in the short time that I have been using e-cigarettes I have been able to reduce my nicotine intake significantly. Without e-cigarettes I would still be a smoker, and if I did not have an e-cigarette I would be a smoker again tomorrow. As a former dedicated smoker who has now been cigarette free for 2 months, I can confidently and proudly say that E-cigs have saved my life.

If you would like any more information on e-cigarettes and/or their usage I would be delighted to assist in any way that I can.

Kind regards,

tommy2bad

Good man, maybe we all should respond and possibly to the law firm as well.

eeloe

Excellent reply there man, very thought out and well worded!

If only I had such a grasp of the english language.

Hopefully you get a reply from them, and maybe you might get an article published showing the 'pro' side of e-cigs!

newmark

Excellent letter stevenmu fair play to you! Let us know if you get a reply or hear anything back.

stevenmu

tommy2bad wrote: »

Good man, maybe we all should respond and possibly to the law firm as well.

That could be a good idea, I think the biggest danger to vaping is that if a negative impression gets created in the public mindset it would be very hard to change. Because vaping is so closely related to smoking, it's very easy for uninformed people to automatically assume a negative stance towards it. And when that happens I think the best thing we can do is to spread positive information to combat it.

achieve

Excellent - Well done stevenmu!