NPR Story on Electronic Cigarettes

Click here for the NPR story on electronic cigarettes, which aired on All Things Considered earlier today.

According to the story: "There is a split in the public health community over this question similar to the abstinence-only debate in sex education: whether to advocate that smokers switch to less harmful products, even if they are not completely safe."

"Boston University School of Public Health professor Michael Siegel says the FDA's recent consumer warning was misleading because the agency found low levels of carcinogens in e-cigarettes."

"It is comparable to what is present in nicotine-replacement products, which are on the market, and, in fact, if you look at the actual levels of the carcinogens in electronic cigarettes, they're about 1,400 times lower than in Marlboros," he says."

The Rest of the Story

This is really the first major national media outlet to present both sides of the story, so this is really an accomplishment for those of us fighting to present an appropriate perspective on the issue to the public. Hopefully, it will be the first of many stories to come.