Comparison of Vapor Components to Cigarette Smoke Toxicants

Check out the below link for charts comparing electronic cigarettes to normal ones:
http://www.casaa.org/uploads/DublinEcigBenchtopHandout.pdf

History Of the Electronic Cigarette

Wanna learn about the history behind Electronic Cigarettes? Check out this great article we found explaining who invented them and how long they have been around:
http://www.dealsorduds.com/guides/history-of-e-cigarettes/

Electronic cigarettes: effective nicotine delivery after acute administration

Vansickel AR, Eissenberg T.

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.

INTRODUCTION:

Electronic cigarettes (ECs) are marketed as nicotine delivery devices. Two studies with EC-naïve participants suggest that ECs deliver little or no nicotine. In those studies, standard-sized ECs were used, though experienced EC users often use larger devices that house higher voltage and/or longer lasting batteries. Whether user experience and device characteristics influence EC nicotine delivery is uncertain. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of ECs in experienced users who were using their preferred devices.

METHODS:

Eight EC users (3 women) who had been using ECs for at least 3 months, completed one 5-hr session using devices they provided and the flavor/strength nicotine cartridges they selected. Sessions consisted of 4 phases: baseline, 10 puffs (30-s interpuff interval) from the device, 1-hr ad lib puffing period, and a 2-hr rest period (no puffing). Outcome measures in each phase included plasma nicotine concentration, heart rate, and subjective ratings of nicotine/product effects and abstinence symptoms.

RESULTS:

Relative to baseline, plasma nicotine and heart rate increased significantly within 5 min of the first puff and remained elevated throughout the ad lib puffing period. Increases in ratings of direct effects of nicotine and product were observed as well as decreases in abstinence symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS:

User experience and/or device characteristics likely influence EC nicotine delivery and other effects. Systematic manipulation of these and other variables could elucidate conditions that produce intended effects.

Source : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22311962

Impact of an electronic cigarette on smoking reduction and cessation in schizophrenic smokers: a prospective 12-month pilot study.

Caponnetto P, Auditore R, Russo C, Cappello GC, Polosa R.

CTA-Villa Chiara Psychiatric Rehabilitation Clinic and Research, Mascalucia, Catania 95030, Italy. p.caponnetto@unict.it

BACKGROUND:

Cigarette smoking is a tough addiction to break. This dependence is the most common dual diagnosis for individuals with schizophrenia. Currently three effective drugs are approved for smoking cessation: nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), varenicline and bupropion. However, some serious side effects of varenicline have been reported, including depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide. The use of bupropion also has side effects. It should not be used by people who have epilepsy or any condition that lowers the seizure threshold, nor by people who take a specific class of drugs called monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Hence, there are pharmacodynamic reason to believe they could precipitate or exacerbate psychosis. For its capacity to deliver nicotine and provide a coping mechanism for conditioned smoking cues by replacing some of the rituals associated with smoking gestures, electronic-cigarettes may reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms without serious side effects. Our recent work with ECs in healthy smokers not intending to quit consistently show surprisingly high success rates. We hypothesised that these positive findings could be replicated in difficult patients with schizophrenia This tool may help smokers with schizophrenia remain abstinent during their quitting attempts or to reduce cigarette consumption. Efficacy and safety of these devices in long-term smoking cessation and/or smoking reduction studies have never been investigated for this special population.

METHODS:

In this study we monitored possible modifications in smoking habits of 14 smokers (not intending to quit) with schizophrenia experimenting with the "Categoria" e-Cigarette with a focus on smoking reduction and smoking abstinence. Study participants were invited to attend six study visits: at baseline, week-4, week-8, week-12 week-24 and week 52. Product use, number of cigarettes smoked, carbon monoxide in exhaled breath (eCO) and positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia levels were measured at each visit. Smoking reduction and abstinence rates were calculated. Adverse events were also reviewed.

RESULTS:

Sustained 50% reduction in the number of cig/day at week-52 was shown in 7/14 (50%) participants; their median of 30 cig/day decreasing significantly to 15 cig/day (p = 0.018). Sustained smoking abstinence at week-52 was observed in 2/14 (14.3%) participants. Combined sustained 50% reduction and smoking abstinence was shown in 9/14 (64.3%) participants. Nausea was observed in 2/14 (14.4%) of participants, throat irritation in 2/14 (14.4%) of participants, headache in 2/14 (14.4%) of participants , and dry cough in 4/14 (28.6%) of participants. However, these adverse events diminished substantially by week-24. Overall, one to two cartridges/day were used throughout the study. Positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia are not increased after smoking reduction/cessation in patients using e-cigarettes.

CONCLUSIONS:

We have shown for the first time that the use of e-cigarette substantially decreased cigarette consumption without causing significant side effects in chronic schizophrenic patients who smoke not intending to quit. This was achieved without negative impacts on the symptoms of schizophrenia as assessed by SAPS and SANS symptoms scales.

Source : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23358230

Ex-Surgeon General Joins e-Cig Board

Updated: Mar 29, 2013 1:55 PM PDT
By MICHAEL FELBERBAUM
AP Tobacco Writer

                  
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The former surgeon general who stressed the dangers of secondhand smoke and supported banning tobacco products is joining the board of directors for the nation's leading electronic cigarette company.

Arizona-based NJOY Inc. says Dr. Richard Carmona will advise it on public health and regulatory issues, and spearhead its research into electronic cigarettes.

The battery-powered devices heat a liquid nicotine solution and create vapor that users inhale. The company's NJOY KING is the nation's best-selling e-cigarette.

Carmona was the country's senior public health official under President George W. Bush from 2002 to 2006.

The 63-year-old is president of the health and wellness nonprofit Canyon Ranch Institute and a public health professor at the University of Arizona.
The move could bring increased legitimacy to e-cigarettes as a viable alternative to traditional cigarettes.

Source: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/21780102/apnewsbreak-ex-surgeon-general-joins-e-cig-board