As you very well may know, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been strongly critical of the safety of smokeless electronic cigarettes. Some states have even entertained the idea of banning them outright.

In a press conference last year, the FDA claimed these alternative nicotine delivery devices contained harmful “toxins” and “carcinogens” and since there hasn’t been extensive testing as of yet, smokers were urged to stay away from electronic cigarettes.

Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, was strongly critical of the FDA’s stance in this op-ed piece that appeared in the Washington Times…she claims the agency’s statements were misleading and incomplete and that in her opinion, the FDA has abandoned their long tradition of sticking to sound science when making judgments about particular items.

Whelan says the agency was being truthful about the fact that electronic cigarettes haven’t been through all of the formal FDA safety tests. However, they failed to point out that traditional cigarettes are not harmful because of the various carcinogens and toxins they contain but because a smoker inhales so much smoke with a cigarette.

Otherwise known as “products of combustion,” this inhaled smoke is what causes many of the diseases (i.e. cancer, cardiovascular disease, emphysema and more) that kill an estimated 450,000 people each year.

Electronic cigarettes on the other hand mimic traditional cigarettes in their look and feel but deliver nicotine differently

The FDA also says electronic cigarettes are nicotine delivery devices – that much is true but it’s not the nicotine that kills so many people, it’s the smoke according to Dr. Whelan. Getting the nicotine without the harmful smoke would yield an extraordinary public health benefit Whelan says.

Other nicotine delivery systems like gums and patches have been approved by the FDA but since smoking cessation rates are less than 15% with these products, Dr. Whelan claims they’re an abysmal failure.

Finally, Dr. Whelan claims the FDA was urging e-cigarette ‘vapers’ to call-in and report any adverse effects since they couldn’t find any evidence on their own. Whelan believes the agency intends on banning these devices in the U.S.

In the end, Whelan contends that any alternative to regular cigarettes should be taken seriously since smoking still remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S.  She says that rather than condemning the devices, they should be commissioning studies to determine the true safety of these devices.