E-cigarettes are battery powered devices that supply inhaled doses of nicotine vapors and flavorings. Absent of tobacco, e-cigarettes are promoted as a possible help in getting individuals to stop smoking and thus lowering their lung cancer risk.
However, MD Anderson cancer prevention specialists Paul Cinciripini, Ph.D., director of the Tobacco Treatment Program, and Alexander Prokhorov, Physician, Ph.D., head of the Tobacco Outreach Education Program, caution that more research is needed to understand the potential role of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation.
"Independent studies must rigorously investigate e-cigarettes, since there's significant potential advantage in these products whenever they're regulated and their security is ensured," says Cinciripini. "But encouraging the e-cigarettes already on the shelves as 'safe' is misleading and, if considered a benign alternative to smokes, could potentially cause a fresh generation of smokers more prone to become tobacco-dependent."
Against the impending introduction of another e-cigarette, Prokhorov and Cinciripini advocate consumers to understand the following information.
-- E-cigarettes are unregulated and there's little analysis on the safety or efficacy as smoking-cessation resources. "These products aren't accepted by the Food and Drug Administration and this is concerning because it's impossible to understand what you're really getting or whether it's safe. For now, he suggests that those looking to quit stick with approved devices, like nicotine inhalers.
-- Switching from tobacco to e-cigarettes could help smokers avoid approximately 6,000 chemicals, some of which are human carcinogens. "Decreased contact with dangerous chemicals warrants research of those goods for a smoking cessation automobile," says Cinciripini. "Unbiased studies, free in the moral and legal difficulties of 'Big Tobacco'-sponsored trials, are required."
-- Branded as "safer," available in a range of colors and flavors and promoted by celebrities, e-cigarettes could become a hook for future smokers. "E-cigarettes are a novel approach to introduce tobacco smoking to young folks, and their potential 'portal' role should really be a problem for parents and health officials alike," provides Prokhorov.
"Once a young man gets acquainted with nicotine, it's more likely they'll attempt other tobacco products. "Unfortunately, there's no evidence that e-cigarettes are risk-free."
Cinciripini has over 30 years' experience conducting fundamental and clinical research in smoking-cessation and nicotine psychopharmacology. Prokhorov may be the principal architect of MD Anderson's ASPIRE program, a teen-centered website and, Tobacco Free Teens, a smart-phone software - both are new approaches to keeping young people free in the grips of nicotine addiction.
MD Anderson houses one of the greatest tobacco research programs in the nation, the main cancer centre's Cancer Prevention section. The Tobacco Treatment Program, funded by State of Texas Tobacco Settlement Funds, offers tobaccocessation medication treatments and inperson behavioral counseling free to MD Anderson patients who are current tobacco users or recent quitters. The program also works with patient families as well as most people.
However, MD Anderson cancer prevention specialists Paul Cinciripini, Ph.D., director of the Tobacco Treatment Program, and Alexander Prokhorov, Physician, Ph.D., head of the Tobacco Outreach Education Program, caution that more research is needed to understand the potential role of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation.
"Independent studies must rigorously investigate e-cigarettes, since there's significant potential advantage in these products whenever they're regulated and their security is ensured," says Cinciripini. "But encouraging the e-cigarettes already on the shelves as 'safe' is misleading and, if considered a benign alternative to smokes, could potentially cause a fresh generation of smokers more prone to become tobacco-dependent."
Against the impending introduction of another e-cigarette, Prokhorov and Cinciripini advocate consumers to understand the following information.
-- E-cigarettes are unregulated and there's little analysis on the safety or efficacy as smoking-cessation resources. "These products aren't accepted by the Food and Drug Administration and this is concerning because it's impossible to understand what you're really getting or whether it's safe. For now, he suggests that those looking to quit stick with approved devices, like nicotine inhalers.
-- Switching from tobacco to e-cigarettes could help smokers avoid approximately 6,000 chemicals, some of which are human carcinogens. "Decreased contact with dangerous chemicals warrants research of those goods for a smoking cessation automobile," says Cinciripini. "Unbiased studies, free in the moral and legal difficulties of 'Big Tobacco'-sponsored trials, are required."
-- Branded as "safer," available in a range of colors and flavors and promoted by celebrities, e-cigarettes could become a hook for future smokers. "E-cigarettes are a novel approach to introduce tobacco smoking to young folks, and their potential 'portal' role should really be a problem for parents and health officials alike," provides Prokhorov.
"Once a young man gets acquainted with nicotine, it's more likely they'll attempt other tobacco products. "Unfortunately, there's no evidence that e-cigarettes are risk-free."
Cinciripini has over 30 years' experience conducting fundamental and clinical research in smoking-cessation and nicotine psychopharmacology. Prokhorov may be the principal architect of MD Anderson's ASPIRE program, a teen-centered website and, Tobacco Free Teens, a smart-phone software - both are new approaches to keeping young people free in the grips of nicotine addiction.
MD Anderson houses one of the greatest tobacco research programs in the nation, the main cancer centre's Cancer Prevention section. The Tobacco Treatment Program, funded by State of Texas Tobacco Settlement Funds, offers tobaccocessation medication treatments and inperson behavioral counseling free to MD Anderson patients who are current tobacco users or recent quitters. The program also works with patient families as well as most people.