E-cigarettes contain chemicals that make some 'as harmful as normal tobacco'

Findings from the National Consumers' Institute said it tested ten different rechargable and disposable models for carcinogenic and toxic properties.

• Researchers 'detected a significant quantity of carcinogenic molecules in the vapour of these cigarettes which have thus far gone undetected'.
• Report also criticised certain models for lacking child-proof safety caps because nicotine levels contained could be lethal to children.

Electronic cigarettes contain carcinogenic chemicals that make some as harmful as normal tobacco, a new French study has claimed.

The report comes after government plans announced in May this year to ban electronic cigarettes from public places in France.

Now monthly magazine 60 Millions Consommateurs (60 Million Consumers) has branded the devices as 'far from the harmless gadgets they're sold as by manufacturers'.

The magazine - which reports the findings of the National Consumers' Institute - said it tested ten different rechargable and disposable models for carcenogenic and toxic properties.  Editor Thomas Laurenceau wrote: 'We detected a significant quantity of carcinogenic molecules in the vapour of these cigarettes which have thus far gone undetected.

'In three models out of ten the levels of the carcinogenic compound formaldehyde come close to those of a conventional cigarette.

'The highly toxic molecule acrolein was also detected in the vapours of e-cigarettes, sometimes at levels even higher than in traditional cigarettes.'

The report also criticised certain models for lacking child-proof safety caps because nicotine levels contained in the liquid content of an electronic cigarette could be lethal to children.  Mr Laurenceau added: 'It's not a reason to ban them, but a good reason to control them.'

Toxic levels of various molecules were found in some of the e-cigarettes meaning they could be just as dangerous as traditional cigarettes. Image shows lung cancer cells

French Health Minister Marisol Touraine announced in May that the ban on smoking in public places would be extended to cover electronic cigarettes, and that they would be subject to the same controls as tobacco.

The move has sparked outrage among sellers and users of the battery-powered devices which contain liquid nicotine that is turned into a vapor when inhaled.

Ms Touraine said: 'The e-cigarette is not an ordinary product. 'We need to apply the same measures as there are for tobacco.  'That means making sure it cannot be smoked in public places, that its sale is restricted to over 18s and that firms are not allowed to advertise the products.'

E-cigarettes are currently legal to use in bars and restaurants and all other public places, where traditional smoking has been banned for five years.

A ban would harm the booming e-cigarette industry in France, where around one million people now use the gadgets, vendors insist.

Darren Moon, the English owner of online store Vapshop.fr, said: 'If they ban it in public or in the workplace, I'll be closing my store, or moving it somewhere where there aren't restrictions like that.

'Twenty percent of our business is selling disposable e-cigarettes to restaurants, clubs, bars and hotels. So if there's a workplace ban, I'd have to start firing people.'

E-cigarettes were first invented in China in 2003, as many nations began imposing bans on smoking, and are aimed at giving the user a similar sensation to smoking a cigarette.

In March this year, health expert Professor Bertrand Dauzenberg told France's Europe 1 radio that e-cigarettes could have the opposite effect that is designed for.

He added: 'These electronic cigarettes could also lead children to start smoking and sale should be banned to minors.

'However for heavy smokers, I believe these will reduce the health risks, but the best way to quit smoking is the patch or chewing gum.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2402108/E-cigarettes-harmful-cigarettes-cause-cancer-claims-study.html#ixzz2eQqv5Fyq 

By IAN SPARKS

PUBLISHED: 13:33, 26 August 2013 | UPDATED: 08:48, 28 August 2013

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Nicotine Patches Don't Help Smokers Quit Long-term

Nicotine patches have been branded a waste of time as study finds they don't help smokers quit long-term. Former smokers just as likely to relapse if they used nicotine replacement therapies to help them quit.

Nicotine patches are no better than willpower at helping smokers to quit, research shows. Earlier clinical trials had suggested nicotine replacement therapy could double a smoker’s chances of giving up the habit. But a new study of 800 patients found patches made no difference to long-term quitting rates.

Researchers said the earlier trials had failed to replicate ‘real-life’ situations. They said success and relapse rates were similar whatever method smokers adopted.

The NHS spends an estimated £84million a year on stop smoking programmes. A week’s supply of patches, which can be obtained on prescription, cost £10 to £14.

The latest study – by the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Massachusetts, Boston – investigated patients who gave up smoking between 2001 and 2006. It concluded: ‘The main finding is that persons who quit relapsed at equivalent rates, whether or not they used nicotine replacement therapy to help them in their quit attempts, in clear distinction to the results of randomised clinical trials.’

The results were the same for heavy and lighter smokers and whether counselling was or was not given.

Harvard’s Hillel Alpert said: ‘This study shows that using NRT is no more effective in helping people stop smoking cigarettes in the long term than trying to quit on one’s own.’

The cost of quitting: People can spend up to £14 a week on patches. In an online report in the journal Tobacco Control, fellow author Lois Biener said the funding for NRT might be better spent on other interventions. In replacement therapy, patches, gum, nasal sprays or inhalers are used to supply nicotine to the bloodstream.

NHS figures show that quit rates – giving up for at least four weeks – are slightly better for patients using willpower than patches.

However, a Department of Health spokesman said: ‘Other studies have shown that NRT is safe and effective, and can double a person’s chances of successfully quitting.’

Further American research released yesterday suggests that nicotine patches can help improve memory loss among older people.

Non-smokers with failing brainpower who used patches for six months had a 46 per cent improvement in their memory skills, according to a report in the journal Neurology about the study at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville.

Previous research has suggested nicotine helps brainpower among Alzheimer’s sufferers.

Source: Daily Mail

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