Note: World Lung Foundation united with The Union North America. From January 2016, the combined organization is known as “Vital Strategies.”
(New York, USA) – World Lung Foundation (WLF) today issued the following statement regarding a feature story in the New York Times entitled “China’s E-Cigarette Boom Lacks Oversight for Safety”, which reveals real problems with the manufacture of e-cigarettes in China.
Dr Neil Schluger, Chief Scientific Officer, World Lung Foundation, said: “David Barboza has confirmed what we had always suspected about the quality of manufacture of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery devices – it is a matter of chance whether or not a consumer buys a device that has been manufactured to any standard of quality or safety. That silicones and hard metals are being delivered to users’ respiratory and blood systems is a massive cause for concern – these are exactly the sort of toxins that cause cancer and other diseases. Even more worrying is the fact that an increasing number of teens are using e-cigarettes – subjecting their immature lungs and brains to potential long-term harm. And what may be the harms of second-hand exposure to vapor from these devices?
“Yet the debate over manufacturing processes in China is also a red herring. The same issues may apply to e-cigarettes manufactured in other countries. It is not enough for a manufacturer to claim their product is better quality or safe purely because of its place of manufacture. Whether it’s Beijing, Berlin or Boston, these devices and liquids should be subject to stringent quality control and thoroughly scrutinized by regulators before they are made available for sale. In addition, monitoring and reporting structures should be put in place to record adverse reactions and accidents to help us learn more about the medium- to long-term outcomes of e-cigarette use. That, in turn, can help to inform policy going forward.
“In the meantime, we should act in order to protect public health. Early scientific studies – combined with stories of poisonings among infants and animals, and fires caused by overheating or exploding devices – indicate an urgent need for action. We need regulation, now, to restrict sales to youth, to restrict where e-cigarettes can be sold and used, to restrict how and where they can be marketed and advertised, and to ensure that e-cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery devices, e-liquid cartridges and the liquids themselves are manufactured to the highest possible standards of quality and safety. Users of these devices – and those around them who may be exposed to exhaled or escaped vapors – deserve nothing less.”