“In a recent post for his blog, TobaccoAnalysis.com, ACSH scientific advisor Dr. Mike Siegel, a professor at Boston University’s School of Public Health, attacks the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy’s crusade against electronic cigarettes. More specifically, he targets a representative of the Center, Dr. Ellen Hahn, who, in a television interview asserted, “The electronic cigarette is not really a quit aid…there’s a lot of myth and misperception and confusion about the product.”
Not so fast, Dr. Hahn. As Dr. Siegel points out, “There is abundant evidence that literally tens of thousands of electronic cigarette users have successfully used these products to either quit smoking or to cut down substantially.” He continues, “A clinical trial has demonstrated that among smokers who were not motivated to quit, 54 percent were able to quit completely or to cut down by at least half on the amount they smoke.”
Here at ACSH we can’t help but echo Dr. Siegel, especially when he asks: “Is it the ‘people’ (i.e., smokers) who are really confused, or is it the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy?
ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross has much to add to the debate. “Dr. Hahn claims that there is no scientific evidence in support of e-cigarettes,” he says. “But what about the millions of testimonies from current users who praise the benefits and efficacy of e-cigarettes?”
“Dr. Hahn is being disingenuous at best and blatantly false at worse,” Dr. Ross adds. “It baffles me that, despite accumulating evidence attesting to the use of e-cigarettes as effective smoking cessation devices, prominent public health organizations continue to emphasize the alleged dangers of allowing these products on the market. They cite the bizarrely unscientific statements attributed to former assistant FDA commissioner Josh Sharfstein in 2009, when he misled smokers trying to quit by targeting ‘carcinogens’ in e-cigarette vapor. Dr. Hahn should be equally ashamed of such irresponsible assertions, which will cost smokers their health and their lives.” – ACSH