(Corrects paragraph 17 to remove Arkansas from list of states
that ban e-cigarettes whereever smoking is prohibited.)
By Marina Lopes
NEW YORK, Dec 11 (Reuters) – At the Henley Vaporium, one of
a growing number of e-cigarette lounges sprouting up in New York
and other U.S. cities, patrons can indulge in their choice of
more than 90 flavors of nicotine-infused vapor, ranging from
bacon to bubble gum.
The lounge, located in Manhattan’s trendy Lower East Side,
features plush seating, blaring rock music, and fresh juice and
coffee. A sprawling sign on one wall lists all the carcinogens
that e-cigarette users avoid by kicking their smoking habits and
using the e-devices instead.
But the growing popularity of e-cigarettes has not escaped
the notice of the industry’s critics, who have stepped up calls
for new regulations, including bans on their use in public
places, even though the scientific evidence about exposure to
their vapors remains inconclusive.
Selling for about $30 to $50 each, e-cigarettes are slim,
reusable, metal tubes containing nicotine-laced liquids that
come in exotic flavors. When users puff on the device, the
nicotine is heated and releases a vapor that, unlike cigarette
smoke, contains no tar, which causes cancer and other diseases.
The product, introduced in China in 2006, has become a
worldwide trend at least in part because it may help smokers of
regular cigarettes break the habit.
“It’s an addiction – not everyone can quit cold turkey,”
said Nick Edwards, 34, a Henley employee who says he kicked a
15-year cigarette habit the day he tried his first e-cigarette.
“E-cigarettes give you a harm-reduction option.”
That’s one reason why the market for e-cigarettes is
expected to surge, reaching $2 billion by the end of 2013 and
$10 billion by 2017, according to Bonnie Herzog, an analyst at
Wells Fargo Bank in New York.
Herzog said the U.S. market alone could top $1 billion this
year. She predicts that by 2017 e-cigarettes sales will overtake
sales of regular cigarettes. That estimate does not take into
account the impact of potential government regulations on sales.
E-cigarettes may help smokers save money too. Edwards, for
one, says he cut his $60 monthly cigarette bill in half when he
switched. On top of the cost of the device, the smoking liquids
cost around $10 per refill.
Despite the perceived benefits, critics worry that the
addictive nicotine found in e-cigarettes could lure more people
into smoking and discourage others from quitting all together.
“Essentially e-cigarette companies are selling nicotine
addiction,” said Dr. Neil Schluger, chief scientific officer for
the World Lung Foundation, which advocates for tobacco control.
“Once you have them addicted to nicotine, you can sell them
all sorts of things, including conventional cigarettes,” he
said. “This is a giant Trojan horse.”
In the United States, such concerns have led to calls for
increased government regulation.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently has no
regulations on e-cigarettes, but it is expected to release rules
this month that would extend its “tobacco product” authority
over the devices. New FDA rules could follow.
“Further research is needed to assess the potential public
health benefits and risks of electronic cigarettes and other
novel tobacco products,” said Jenny Haliski, an FDA spokeswoman.
To be sure, no one is expecting the federal government to go
as far as Brazil, Norway and Singapore, where the devices are
banned outright.
In the United States, Utah, North Dakota and New Jersey
have already passed legislation outlawing e-cigarettes wherever
smoking is prohibited.
Other jurisdictions are considering new rules of their own.
New York City could decide as early as next week whether to
prohibit e-cigarette use in public places.
Under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who leaves office Jan. 1, New
York was one of the first cities to ban cigarette smoking in
public places, and its decision could influence Chicago and
other cities that are considering a similar controls.
REVENUE SPINNERS
The outcome is crucial for tobacco companies, which are
banking on the devices to make up for a sharp decline in sales
of regular cigarettes in the United States. Smoking among U.S.
adults dropped to 18 percent in 2012 from 24.7 percent in 1997,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Reynolds American Inc, which makes Camel cigarettes,
began selling its Vuse vapor cigarettes in Colorado retail
stores in July and plans on expanding nationwide by mid-2014.
Other companies have also dipped into the e-cigarette
business, too. Last year Lorillard Inc, maker of Newport
cigarettes, acquired the best-selling blu eCigs brand, while
Altria Group Inc, best known for the Marlboro brand,
followed suit in August with the launch of MarkTen e-cigarettes.
“As society is transforming, so must the tobacco industry,”
said Reynolds spokesman Richard Smith. “It’s just good business
sense.”
The arrival of Big Tobacco could mean fierce competition for
small e-cigarette companies that do not have the resources or
experience to deal with tight government regulation.
But many e-cigarette companies say Big Tobacco is late to
the game and has a lot to catch up on. “They are going to need
to boost up their game if they want to compete,” said Christina
Lopez, a saleswoman at Smokeless Image, an e-cigarette shop that
sells smaller brands in Hoboken, New Jersey.
HEALTH RISKS UNCERTAIN
To be sure, there is still a dearth of scientific evidence
about the safety of e-cigarettes and their effectiveness in
helping smokers quit. For regulators, the big question is, are
e-cigarettes a treatment for would-be quitters or “gateway”
products to nicotine addiction?
Supporters say some e-cigarettes allow users to slowly
reduce their nicotine intake and wean themselves off nicotine
completely. A study published in the September issue in Lancet,
the British medical journal, said the e-cigarettes are as
effective as nicotine patches for smokers trying to quit.
Worldwide, conventional cigarette addictions kill 6 million
people a year, in part because of the 250 harmful chemicals
found in tobacco smoke, which can cause cancer, heart disease
and stroke, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But e-cigarettes may not be harmless, either. Nicotine
addictions, fed by smoking, chewing tobacco or e-cigarettes, can
cause high blood pressure, disrupt heart rhythms and lead to
obesity and diabetes.
Electronic devices that feature fruit and candy flavors are
even more worrying, critics say, because they could introduce
children to smoking.
E-cigarette vendors say the sweet flavors make the process
of quitting smoking less painful.
“By taking a sort of ‘Willy Wonka,’ fun approach to a
serious matter, it breaks down people’s perceptions of
e-cigarettes,” said Talia Eisenberg, owner of the Henley
Vaporium, referring to the fictional candy maker.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 10
percent of high school students surveyed reported using
e-cigarettes in 2012, up from 4.7 percent in 2011.
About 60 percent of current users are over 35 years old, and
43 percent are college-educated, according to Reynolds American.
Twelve states, including New York, have passed laws
preventing e-cigarette sales to minors.
At a hearing on the proposed New York City ban on
e-cigarette use in public places, Health Commissioner Thomas
Farley said allowing it could glamorize all types of smoking and
encourage teenagers and children to take up the cigarette habit.
“While more research is needed on electronic cigarettes,
waiting to act could jeopardize the progress we have made over
the last few years,” he said.
(Reporting By Marina Lopes; Editing by Jilian Mincer and Tim
Dobbyn)
