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Myth: Electronic cigarette cartridges offer many flavors in order to attract adolescent users.
Fact: Many adult-intended products offer a variety of flavors.
The preference for flavor is universal and not age-specific. Products of all types offer colors, flavors and other variations in order to appeal to consumers. To suggest that the cartridge flavors for electronic cigarettes were devised to appeal to kids is patently false and has no basis in fact, and is the same thing as suggesting nicotine-infused smoking cessation gums are available in mint and cinnamon flavors in order to appeal to kids.
Myth: No one knows what is in electronic cigarettes.
Fact: Multiple studies have been conducted and the ingredients are well known.
Multiple studies by different laboratories around the globe have been conducted identifying that the vapor that is ingested when using an electronic cigarette, depending on the manufacturer, contains approximately 20 ingredients including nicotine, all regarded as generally safe for human consumption when ingested prudently and in accordance with proper labeling.
Myth: Electronic cigarettes cannot be legally marketed in the US.
Fact: The FDA has not issued any formal guidance on electronic cigarettes.
While it is true that some manufacturers have had the importation of their products stopped, it is also true that the FDA has only provided informal comments about electronic cigarettes through its spokespeople and has not issued any formal guidance on the topic. FDA currently only has jurisdiction to regulate drugs and medical devices, and electronic cigarettes are neither.
Myth: Nicotine is bad for you.
Fact: The long-term use of nicotine is orders of magnitude safer than tobacco smoking.
The carcinogenic properties of nicotine in a standalone form indicate that nicotine, on its own, does not promote the development of cancer in healthy tissue and has no mutagenic properties. Further, the Royal College of Physicians says that there are no grounds to suspect appreciable long-term adverse effects on health from the long-term use of nicotine. Electronic cigarette companies in good standing and with proper labeling do advise consumers on who the product is intended for and who should not use the product, as well as the addictive qualities of nicotine.