There are a lot of scammers selling ecigs, it's worth checking for complaints and accuracy of claims before using a supplier. No ecigs are approved anywhere in the world for medical use, if claims are made about cessation you know the seller is untrustworthy. Use of the word 'safe' is also suspect - nothing is safe, although 'safer than smoke' might be a fair claim. No liquid manufacturers are endorsed by any governments but some imply that they are. For example, claims of FDA registration may be true but that isn't anything to do with regulation of the product, it is an anti-terrorism register.

Even for those of us without children it's hard to avoid the second hand parenting forced on us by lifestyle dictators. Users of ecigs are familiar with the calls (in the US particularly) to 'think of the children'. It is claimed that young people need to be protected from cynical corporate strategies that hook them on adult vices. This is why, for example, our tasty flavoured pvliquid must be eliminated.

This is the last report from the WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation Report on the Scientific Basis of Tobacco Product Regulation which deals with ecigs:

WHO Technical Report Series, no. 955

This is how they embrace new opportunities, rather than seeing an effective way to support smokers they want to prevent new solutions to the old problems:

Vive Le Résistance!

I've come across some pro-choice groups that seem to be running good campaigns.  There's Smokers Justice which has a cunning plan to organise peaceful 'smoke ins'.

5.8.10

Dr Mike has written a great analysis of the FDA case -

26 July 2010. From Smokeles, the Tobacco Harm Reduction blog :-

Vapers and friends,

As you may have read, we are facing indoor bans in Lowell, IN, Northhampton, MA and Albany County, NY. Once these indoor bans start, it's going to be hard to stop them. There will be MANY of these in the coming months and we will not know about them until a day or 2 before the hearings in most cases. We need to get as many vapers to these public hearings as possible. Please, if you live anywhere near any of these areas try to attend and speak out! If you have a way to get the word out to others, please do it quickly! Mailing lists, websites, videos, forums, etc… spread the word!

Northhampton, MA

Information from ASH has turned up which suggests that 3% of smokers in the UK use electronic cigarettes. This is probably not a reliable figure (ASH dreams stuff like this up for their own entertainment) but it's the only one I've seen so I thought I'd do the sums to see what implications compulsory medical licensing might have for the smoking community.

Former 'Winston Man' David Goerlitz

is a patron of Vapers Network

In June 2010, Dave Goerlitz became a patron of Vapers Network. He said he is keen to do "anything to promote the best alternative for smokers" and is happy to support our network.

UPDATE 31 July 2010

A Trading Standards Officer has written to a UK supplier to notify them that the outcome of the consultation will be a ban of all ecigs which don't have applications for certification as medical devices.

The letter can be found HERE

... the AMA has been consistently opposed to any effort designed to promote the public welfare. The agenda of the AMA is not aligned with the interests of the average American citizen. With a mission to block any meaningful health care reform, why would any hard working American with an ounce of sense listen to the AMA?

http://www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/the-electronic-cigarette-story

This is guesswork for illustrative purposes only but there is an element of realistic scale.

As you can see, smokeless and non-tobacco nicotine products might be twice as dangerous as medical nicotine products - the sort of argument used to ban non-medical reduced harm products regardless of risk compared with smoking.

User satisfaction is an essential measure, safer products have zero risk/benefit impact if nobody chooses to use them.