WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 21, 2015 – A letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine today found that the amount of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, inhaled in a day when using certain e-cigarette devices at higher voltages could be significantly higher than that inhaled when smoking a pack of combustible cigarettes. The following statement from American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network President Chris Hansen urges the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider the new findings and quickly finalize its proposal to regulate all tobacco products.
“The new evidence presented today in the New England Journal of Medicine should raise serious concerns about the unregulated market of e-cigarettes. These findings provide yet another example of how little we know about what is in these products or about the varying levels of exposure to toxic chemicals that can result from using any of the hundreds of different types of e-cigarette devices. Federal regulation is imperative to help address the health risks of these increasingly popular products both to their users and others exposed to e-cigarette vapor. Furthermore, until the FDA finalizes its proposal to regulate e-cigarettes and other tobacco products, the industry’s unfettered ability to market these products to kids remains a threat to public health.
“Absent FDA regulation and without sufficient scientific evidence that clearly shows e-cigarettes are safe and effective as cessation aids, ACS CAN will support laws that treat e-cigarettes like all other tobacco products to keep them out of the hands of children.”
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Lauren Walens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5763 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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