Electronic cigarettes are popular with people trying to give up smoking. But are these nicotine sticks safe?
PAUL McKENNA shoots a look over each shoulder, takes in the nightclub around him, and puffs slyly on a cigarette. An amber light glows, a plume of mist appears, but nobody seems to notice.
Should anyone object, however, he has a plastic card in his pocket stating that his electronic cigarette does not contain tobacco, does not produce second-hand smoke and (in bold, capital letters) is not subject to any smoking laws.
“I’m still very, very sketchy about using it in public,” says McKenna, who gave up an 18-year smoking habit two weeks ago. He bought an e-cigarette starter kit online as a way to gradually wean himself off nicotine altogether (cartridges come in dosages ranging from zero to 54 mg).
“Just having it there if I need it has helped,” he says. “The fact that it looks like a cigarette adds to the illusion of smoking, I suppose. I tried an inhaler for a month before but it didn’t do anything. It was just harsh and unpleasant.”
Though the e-cigarette can appear convincing from a distance, its shell contains a battery, a nicotine cartridge and an atomiser. When the user takes a drag, the nicotine solution (made up of flavouring, nicotine and a gel made of propylene glycol) is heated into a vapour, which is then inhaled.
Puff for puff, it is a stronger dosage of nicotine than what McKenna is used to, but he doesn’t consider it cheating. He’s not alone.
So far the e-cigarette trade in Ireland has mainly been limited to people ordering them online, but that is about to change.
On Monday, the McCabes pharmacy chain will stock about 2,500 electronic cigarettes across its 20 branches to satisfy waiting lists of 100 people per store.
“We can’t keep up with demand,” says Alan O’Grady of cigarettes.ie, a Kildare-based supplier that is also filling orders for pharmacies in Limerick, Dublin, Kerry and Galway next week. “A bombshell of interest has hit in the last two months.”
O’Grady got into the business after trying an electronic cigarette for himself in 2007 when researching ways to give up smoking. “It allows people to keep the nicotine intake while reducing the harm,” he says. “There’s no ignition source, hence they don’t fall under the ban in bars and the workplace. So if you start using electronic cigarettes, you’re still a non-smoker because there is no smoke. People find it hard getting their head around that.”
It’s a loophole that has created ambiguity in terms of legislation. As it is still a relatively new technology, research into the long-term health effects of inhaling nicotine vapour is limited.
Last year the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analysed electronic-cigarette samples from two leading brands, finding the products contained detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals as well as inconsistent levels of nicotine.
In September the FDA began regulatory action against five American companies for unsubstantiated claims and poor manufacturing practices.
O’Grady says they regulate the quality of their own supplies as much as possible but warns against websites selling nicotine fluid sourced from China, which may contain “pesticide-grade” nicotine.
“We’ve talked to the Office of Tobacco Control and the Medicines Board. It doesn’t fall under their umbrellas. None of them want to deal with it. The only reason I could see legislation coming in is if they get very popular, because the Government is going to lose out on a lot of revenue.”
Kathy Maher, who has been a pharmacist at Duleek and Donore Pharmacy in Co Meath for 10 years, says she would urge anyone considering e-cigarettes as a healthier alternative to consult their GP first.
“They might be without the 4,000 other chemicals that are in cigarettes but you’re still getting nicotine and perhaps in greater dosages,” she says. “If you’re just ordering them online you could end up increasing your addiction.”
For now the e-cigarette remains unlicensed and unregulated in Ireland. A spokesman for Ash Ireland, the anti-smoking group, said it had raised the issue with the Minister for Health at a meeting in April and had recently written again, requesting that both the Minister and the Irish Medicines Board look into the matter.
