| Electronic Cigarettes Head for the US |  |  |  |
| Tuesday, 28 April 2009 13:24 |
 In a recent article in the Los Angeles Times entitled, A high-tech approach to getting a nicotine fix, writer Barbara Demick outlines how electronic cigarettes are helping many of China's smokers (reportedly 60% of Chinese men smoke) kick the habit. "It's safe smoking - like smoking with a condom on," said William Taskas, a Canadian distributor who is marketing a product called Smoke- Stik. According to the article, "What makes the electronic cigarette more than just the latest curiosity from China is the enthusiasm it has inspired among respected anti-tobacco activists. "This is exactly what the tobacco companies have been afraid of all these years, an alternative method of delivering nicotine that is actually enjoyable," said David Sweanor, an adjunct law professor at the University of Ottawa who specializes in tobacco issues. "It took the Chinese, who are very entrepreneurial, and not burdened with all kinds of regulation, to take the risk." Even without smoke or fire, electronic cigarettes are sparking controversy. Australia, Canada and Hong Kong have banned them on the grounds that they have not been sufficiently tested for safety. "The way they were being sold, there was no control. A kid could buy it and take too many puffs. You could overdose on nicotine," said Ronald Lam, tobacco control chief of the health department in Hong Kong, where 800 shops were raided last month and the entire e-stash confiscated. The Food and Drug Administration last month confiscated shipments from three Chinese companies on the grounds they were making false health claims. The agency said in a recent letter to prospective importers of electronic cigarettes that it had not decided on their legality, but was "evaluating them on a case-by-case basis." |