E-cigarettes raise new questions about smoking

When a friend sitting at my kitchen table pulled out what looked like a cigarette, I was about to direct her to the front porch. But then I realized that what she was blowing was an odorless vapor, not smoke. It was an electronic cigarette.

Electronic cigarettes come in a variety of shapes and models, but most consist of a battery, a heating element, and a liquid that

contains nicotine, propylene glycol and flavorings. The heating element warms and aerosolizes the liquid, turning it into a vapor the user inhales. Smoking an e-cigarette (called “vaping”), gives users a nicotine hit without exposing them, or those around them, to tobacco smoke. The lack of odor is one of the biggest selling points, says Craig Weiss, chief executive of NJoy electronic cigarettes.

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Study supports e-cigarettes superiority over nicotine patches

Ground-breaking study supports e-cigarettes superiority over nicotine patches

Posted on September 7, 2013 by ACSH

In the first head-to-head comparison between e-cigarettes and nicotine patches (NRT) for helping smokers quit, a significant win for e-cigarettes was found in every measured parameter. Led by Dr. Chris Bullen of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, the researchers recruited 657 smokers who said that they wanted to quit. They were randomized into 3 groups: 289 into an e-cigarette group, 295 in the NRT group, and 73 into what they called a “placebo” group: zero-nicotine e-cigarettes. The selected marketed e-cigarette delivered a fairly low-level nicotine dose, 16 mg., while the NRTs were 21 mg. per daily patch. The study period was for 13 weeks, and the primary outcome measured was abstinence from tobacco confirmed by carbon monoxide breath testing at 6 months follow-up.

The results showed a clear win for the e-cigarette group, with 7.3 percent of that group smokefree, while the NRT group had a success rate of 5.8 percent (the placebo group had a 4.1 percent abstinence rate at 6 months). Due to the unexpectedly low success rate among the entire group, these results, while demonstrating a clear positive trend for e-cigarettes, did not achieve statistical significance. There was no advantage to any of these treatments in terms of adverse effects.

Another important finding was the likelihood of staying on the treatment throughout the study period,  even among those who did not quit completely, and the reduction of cigarette use in those non-quitters. Among those who had not managed to quit after six months, cigarette consumption was markedly reduced in the nicotine e-cigarettes group, compared to the patches and placebo groups: well over half (57%) of the participants in the e-cigarettes group had reduced their daily consumption of cigarettes by at least half after six months, compared to just over two fifths (41%) of the patches group.


In both the nicotine and placebo e-cigarettes groups, a third of participants were still using the devices after six months, compared to under one in ten (8%) of those in the patches group.  When asked whether they would recommend their allocated product to a friend one month after finishing the course, around 9 out of 10 participants in both the e-cigarettes and the placebo groups said they would, compared to just over half (56%) in the patches group.

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International Vapor Group CEO, Nick Molina, Interviewed About E-Cigarette Industry

International Vapor Group CEO, Nick Molina, Interviewed About E-Cigarette Industry on Bloomberg TV

Carina Ost

MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - August 28, 2013) - International Vapor Group (IVG), a leader in the electronic cigarette industry, announced today that CEO, Nick Molina, appeared on Bloomberg TV's "Money Moves" with Deirdre Bolton. The show focuses on innovative companies and IVG leads through manufacturing, distributing and marketing some of the biggest names of e-cigarettes, including South Beach Smoke, EverSmoke, NutriCigs, and new retail concept VaporZone.

Bolton began the interview by highlighting the explosive growth of the e-cigarette industry thanks to celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and companies like International Vapor Group.

The first question was focused on how Molina is preparing for FDA regulations. Molina noted that all International Vapor Group's brands, including South Beach Smoke, were well prepared and actually embraced FDA regulations. "We are diversifying our distribution through distributors, authorized retailers and our own brick and mortar stores in the confines that may be set by the regulators," said Molina. Molina reminded Bolton that the main issue was in age verification to prevent selling to minors and that is something IVG takes very seriously.

The company CEO was careful to note that e-cigarettes were a more convenient alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes and can tout things like no smoke and no ash.

When Bolton pressed on competition in the industry and how Molina is protecting his brands' position, he responded that innovation is key. The CEO added, "When you look at e-liquid, we are one of the few companies that manufacture it in the U.S. Most of my competitors manufacture their e-juice in China." This 100% USA made liquid nicotine juice is a huge differentiator across all International Vapor Group brands including: South Beach Smoke, NutriCigs, EverSmoke and a new retail concept called VaporZone.

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French e-cigarette study - media misrepresent facts

From Casaa:

An article published Monday in The Daily Mail announced "E-cigarettes are as harmful as cigarettes and could cause cancer, claimsstudy." The article stated that a French consumer magazine, 60 Millions Consommateurs (60 Million Consumers), had branded the devices as 'far from the harmless gadgets they're sold as by manufacturers'. Soon, news outlets from all over the world were reporting that "E-cigarettes may be carcinogenic" and "E-cigarettes as harmful as cigarettes."

According to the 60 Millions Consommateurs, which is published by the National Consumers' Institute (a government-funded organization somewhat similar to Consumer Reports in the U.S.), their researchers tested 10 e-cigarettes. This "report" comes after the French government announced in May this year its intent to ban electronic cigarette use in public places, which has outraged French e-cigarette consumers and sellers.

After the news broke, Clive Bates, former head of ASH-UK and a tobacco harm reduction advocate, announced on his blog that he had issued a complaint about the Daily Mail article to the Press Complaints Commission

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