No nicotine in e-cigarettes for Australians yet

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDApr 13 2010

An electronic cigarette looks like a cigarette in a mouthpiece that when inhaled can produce a mist of nicotine and propylene glycol solvent.

According to a recent study undertaken by the Clinical Trials Research Unit at the University of Auckland published in British Journal Tobacco Control on 8^th April 2010, electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes containing nicotine have similar effects to real cigarettes such as the desire to smoke, withdrawal, dependence and other effects.

The report said, "16 mg Cartridges alleviated desire to smoke after overnight abstinence was well tolerated and had a pharmacokinetic profile more like the ‘Nicorette’ inhalator than a tobacco cigarette."

The main results of the study showed that e-cigarettes reduced cravings as much as nicotine inhalers that are used instead of nicotine gums or patches, but not as much as real cigarettes. Real cigarettes produce 10-fold higher level of nicotine in the blood than e-cigarettes. They could be considered a viable alternative for smoking cessation.

In Australia and New Zealand e-cigarettes with nicotine are not available as yet and their sale is also illegal. In New Zealand the Ministry of Health mandates e-cigarettes containing nicotine cartridges to be classified under Medicines Act, and cannot be sold except as a registered medicine.

For the past 3 years Elusion, a New Zealand based e-cigarette company has manufactured and sold nicotine-free cartridges to Australia. These nicotine free cigarettes look, feel and taste same the same as a traditional cigarettes without causing any harm. Currently, nicotine cartridges can only be purchased online from overseas distributors for personal use, for up to 3 months use only. Smokers are unhappy with this and are demanding e-cigarettes with nicotine.

However many authorities do not think e-cigarettes with or without nicotine should be approved. They believe the device imitates actual smoking and may be a road to tobacco addiction for the young because this undermines the whole idea of showing tobacco as a harmful addiction. According to one of researchers, Dr. Chris Bullen, before the e-cigarettes could be recommended as a quit-smoking device, more studies on their effectiveness and safety are needed.

According to Christchurch public health specialist Dr Murray Laugesen who tested the e-cigarettes for more than 50 harmful chemicals, these can be sold as safer alternatives to smokers. He found from his investigations that none of the toxins were found in the e-cigarettes except for some trace levels of one. He urges the Ministry of Health to step in so that these can be sold as cheaper and safer cigarette alternatives as quit-smoking aids. The ministry has agreed to commission more research before accepting such a proposal.