The Electronic Cigarette Gains Approval In Many Hospitals As Debate Continues

While the debate about electric cigarettes continues,reduce secondhand smoke exposure since they do
more and more hospitals are allowing their use on theirnot produce smoke."
property, quietly showing what ground level doctorsProminent doctors and tobacco researchers, including
think about the products.Dr. Michael Siegel at the Boston University School of
COLLEYVILLE, Texas, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- AsPublic Health, Dr. Joel Nitzkin of the AAPHP Tobacco
special interest groups and politicians continue to makeControl Task Force, and Dr. Brad Rodu, Endowed
weak claims against the electric cigarette, anotherChair, Tobacco Harm Reduction Research University
hospital in Tampa, Florida made the decision last weekof Louisville continue to publish the scientific benefits of
to allow the use of electronic cigarettes within theirthe e-cigarettes that counter the misleading information
facility. Smoking is a recreational privilege that whileregarding their safety.
banned in most public places, can be done with theA report from the Centers for Disease Control and
alternative E-cigarette without offending others. ThisPrevention finds that one-fifth of Americans -- about
new invention allows the smoker to get their nicotine46 million -- are still smoking. That number actually
fix just like the coffee or soda drinkers get theirincreased slightly from 2007 to 2008. The report
caffeine fix. The benefits to management comes inappears in the Nov. 13 edition of the CDC's Morbidity
the form of increased productivity in the workplaceand Morality Weekly Report. Currently it is estimated
since the employees do not have to waste timethat 1 in 40 smokers are now using the e-cigarette as
traveling to designated smoking places; they no longeran alternative and the trend is growing at a
smell like a smoker and their employees health is notphenomenal speed.
adversely affected by tobacco smoke. This translatesThe real opposition to E-cigarettes may be due to
into a big plus for the company bottom line in roughpolitical fears from the loss of a portion of billions of
economic times.dollars in tax revenue that tobacco cigarettes
Last July, the FDA issued a warning regarding thegenerate which can't be justified against the
electric cigarette and it appears the public and medicalE-cigarette. Tobacco cigarettes are heavily taxed
industry just aren't buying the story at a time when theunder the guise of reimbursing the medical expense of
public distrusts the government more than at any othertreating smokers. As little as 3% of the money is
time in history. On the heels of that announcement,actually used for that purpose while the rest is spent
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) in the Unitedon projects considered to be more vital. Since
Kingdom released a favorable position on E-cigarettesE-cigarettes have not been proven to cause the type
stating; "E-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine without theof health issues created by tobacco, they can only be
harmful toxins found in tobacco smoke, are likely to betaxed like any other consumer product.
a safer alternative to smoking. In addition, E-cigarettes