E-Cigarette Researchers Start to Count Puffs, Facebook Scans

The US Food and Drug Administration will be funding the research planned to assess the risks of electronic cigarettes.

Another is stalking the social media Facebook for posts on how people are going an extra mile to make the devices deliver extra nicotine. The third one is a virtual convenience store for 13-to-17-year-olds, in order to measure how e-cigarette displays and price promotions affects whether minors buy the increasingly popular devices.

“This is the kind of research that is going to be informing the FDA’s regulatory process,” said Michael Eriksen, dean of the School of Public Health and leader of three FDA-funded projects on tobacco.

The researchers assumes the final outcome of the research may not come out before 2018.

The FDA will be spending around $270 million on 45 big and small projects including the latest one.

The device has a rechargeable lithium battery and in some case a USB cord connected to your computer, a cartridge containing nicotine, flavoring and chemicals like glycerin or polyethylene glycol, an atomizer, containing a heating coil, an LED light to simulate a burning cigarette, a sensor that registers when you take a drag and activates the atomizer and LED light.

The device uses heat (or in some cases, ultrasonics) to vaporize the propylene glycol- or glycerin-based liquid solution into an aerosol mist.E-cigarettes don’t produce smoke and don’t contain most of the chemicals found in combustible cigarettes.

An FDA official says, it “will always make regulatory decisions based on the best available science…With regard to e-cigarettes, the agency does not believe it will take many years to create the regulatory framework” once the FDA has the basic authority to regulate the products, which could happen next year.

“There shouldn’t be regulations akin to those for cigarettes without evidence of similar health impact, especially since the preliminary evidence is positive for the industry” when it comes to comparing the contents of e-cigarette vapour to tobacco smoke, said attorney Bryan Haynes. His Richmond, Virginia-based firm Troutman Sanders represents e-cigarette manufacturers.