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VAPING AND HEALTH
In October, AIHA released a white paper that examined the potential exposures and risks from indoor use of e-cigarettes. Written by a project team including members from the AIHA Indoor Environmental Quality and Risk Assessment Committees, the white paper concluded, in the words of team leader Cheri Marcham, that “e-cigarettes should be considered a source of organic compounds and particulates in the indoor environment until they have been thoroughly evaluated for safety.” The white paper is available at http://bit.ly/aihaecigpaper.
Concern over the potential health effects of e-cigarettes encompasses more than just the effects of their intended use on vapers and bystanders. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released statistics showing that calls to poison control centers related to e-cigarette exposure had increased dramatically in recent years. Media reports have also drawn attention to the potential risks of accidental ingestion of liquid nicotine, whose sale in the U.S. was not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration as of early November.
SOURCES
American Association of Poison Control Centers, “E-Cigarette Devices and Liquid Nicotine”
http://bit.ly/aapccecig
The New York Times, “Selling a Poison by the Barrel”
http://bit.ly/nytliquidnicotine
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