E Cigarettes May Fire Up Controversy
CHICAGO – Maybe you’ve never seen them, but the demand for “e-cigarettes” is growing fast.
Six months ago, vendors report there were roughly 30 U.S. suppliers, a number that’s grown to well over 100. But with moves nationwide to regulate their use, it’s clear they’re lighting up a controversy.
CBS 2′s Vince Gerasole reports.
As he exhales small swirling clouds from his mouth, it sure looks like Mark Miller is smoking. But he’s not. He’s “vaping.”
“How closely it resembles a cigarette really helps fool your mind,” the 20-year-old college student from Elk Grove Village said.
Miller takes a drag on an e-cigarette. The battery-operated device heats up a mix of addictive nicotine and water to produce the vapors he inhales. It even lights up at the end to simulate the complete smoking experience.
“It’s very similar to smoking a cigarette — the big cloud of smoke, you can feel the vapor going in,” Miller says.
He began using the device a few weeks ago to help him break a pack-a-day habit.
He believes he’s making a healthier choice. But many health organizations disagree, pointing out the nicotine-delivery system has not yet been fully tested by the government. The American Lung Association supports the Food and Drug Administration in its drive to regulate e-cigarette use.
“There is a vapor that’s admitted and inhaled into the lungs, and we do not know exactly what’s contained in that vapor,” says Harold Wimmer of the American Lung Association of Illinois.
Often it’s flavored mixes like peanut butter and bubble gum. But early government studies discovered trace amounts of the same carcinogens found in regular cigarettes.
Most suppliers are opposing regulation, but not Schaumberg-based Cigtechs.com, which services about 100 customers a month.
“It should tested fully because people are consuming it,” company representative Chris Ray said.
Miller says he gets double-takes when using the devices but has never had anyone ask what it is. He also has used it in grocery stores, movie theaters and other places where smoking is banned — without incident.
Regardless of the firestorm, Miller believes e-cigarettes will help him stop smoking.
The e-cigarette kits cost as little as $40 and will last a pack-a-day smoker about 10 days. Sales this year are expected to reach $100 million.
Neither cigtechs.com nor the American Lung Association knew of any laws in Illinois prohibiting their use or sale. Bans are pending in Oregon, New Jersey and New York.
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