ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

How Safe are E-Cigarettes?

by Richard Quinn • December 9, 2014

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

“Those are all aldehydes, ketones, and chemicals that are being inhaled into the lungs,” Dr. Jackler said. “They come from the food industry, where those flavorants are designed to be swallowed into the [gastrointestinal] tract, but nobody really knows if, over 10 or 20 years [of] inhaling all day long, that kind of vapor can be problematic to people and cause injury to the lungs, larynx, and voice.”

You Might Also Like

  • Smoking Among U.S. Adults at Lowest Rate in Decades
  • Are E-Cigarettes Effective in Smoking Cessation?
  • Lower Disease Burden with E-Cigarettes than Tobacco Cigarette
  • Longitudinal studies suggest e-cigarettes to be no more effective than already existing smoking cessation product
Explore This Issue
December 2014
Laurence DiNardo, MDOn the surface, [an e-cigarette] sounds like it would be a healthier alternative to tobacco use, but it’s still the Wild West out there in terms of these unregulated nicotine dispensers—which is essentially what they are.—Laurence DiNardo, MD

The lack of evidence-based data makes formulating recommendations on the use of e-cigarettes a thorny topic. Kristen Otto, MD, an otolaryngologist at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., can’t recommend the product to her patients. Dr. Otto’s clinical focus is head and neck surgical oncology and microvascular reconstructive surgery for head and neck cancer defects, and patients in those groups are at particular risk of problems associated with nicotine use. “These people are going to be at much higher risk of failure of their reconstruction with the high nicotine doses than just the standard cancer-causing agents in the tobacco and the tar,” she said. “So I’m definitely somebody who would tell patients that they can’t do e-cigarettes or nicotine patches before the big cancer reconstructive surgery, because of the nicotine effects on the cardiovascular system. But the direct association with oral or head and neck cancers, we can’t really make at this time.”

To underscore the nascent views on e-cigarettes, Dr. Otto noted that she has seen them used on her campus in Florida. “There’s this perception … that this is not really smoking,” she said. “I’ve actually seen people wandering around Moffitt Cancer Center—a cancer center, where you would think the last thing you would want to do is to pull out a cigarette or a cigarette-like device, and yet people have them. “I think we all have to be aware that it’s now more like a public health issue,” she said.

So what should an otolaryngologist say to a patient or a patient’s family member if the habit is one that people feel comfortable indulging in even in the halls of a cancer center?

“What I tell my patients, and I try to educate them as much as I can, is that, health-wise, e-cigarettes are probably more healthy for you than a [traditional] cigarette,” said Dr. DiNardo. “My advice overall, though, is to pursue a smoking cessation program, because as far as we know at the moment, e-cigarettes aren’t necessarily going to stop you from smoking or really curb your addiction to nicotine, so it’s not necessarily a way out.”

Moving Forward

The discussion of e-cigarettes and their potential regulation, of course, hangs on the decision of the FDA, which accepted comments on its proposed rule through early August. “We cannot speculate on when FDA will issue a final rule,” a spokeswoman told ENTtoday. “However, the agency intends to work as quickly as possible to review comments.”

Pages: 1 2 3 4 | Single Page

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: e-cigarette, regulation, smoking, tobaccoIssue: December 2014

You Might Also Like:

  • Smoking Among U.S. Adults at Lowest Rate in Decades
  • Are E-Cigarettes Effective in Smoking Cessation?
  • Lower Disease Burden with E-Cigarettes than Tobacco Cigarette
  • Longitudinal studies suggest e-cigarettes to be no more effective than already existing smoking cessation product

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Experts Delve into Treatment Options for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
    • Weaning Patients Off of PPIs
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Did You Receive COVID-19 Relief? Here Are Reporting Considerations for 2021
    • Otolaryngology Experts Share Best Practices in Five Areas
    • How Climate Change May Be Affecting Sleep Patterns for Adults and Children
    • Laryngologists Discuss Tough Tracheostomy Choices During COVID-19 Era
    • Head and Neck Cancer: Experts Discuss How to Improve Surgery Quality and Value

Polls

Did you receive funding from the CARES Act or Paycheck Protection Program?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2021 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.