The FDA Kills Smokers
November 11, 2011 by admin
Filed under News Stories
November 11, 2011
Fox News
By John Stossel
“Nobody says that smoking is good for you. But it seems the FDA is at it again – protecting the profits of large industries – this time the tobacco giants. Instead of realizing that E-Cigarettes might help people quit, the FDA is more concerned over the possibility that they may contain toxic ingredients. Um, aren’t there toxic ingredients in regular cigarettes to be more concerned about? Plus, the real culprit isn’t the tobacco, it’s the chemicals they spray on the plant that makes people so addictive and sick.” –KTRN
In The New York Times this week, John Tierney identifies a new way government regulation kills.
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been shown to be unusually successful in helping smokers quit. The cigarette substitutes are basically nicontine-delivery devices, and the Royal College of Physicians found:
nicotine itself is not especially hazardous, and that if nicotine could be provided in a form that is acceptable and effective as a cigarette substitute, millions of lives could be saved.
A new study from Italy found that after 24 weeks half of all smokers using the electronic cigarettes reduced their consumption of cigarettes by 50 percent. A quarter gave up smoking altogether.
E-cigarettes may pose some risk, but after reviewing the scientific literature, the Harm Reduction Journal concluded that they are much safer:
