Notes from the field: calls to poison centers for exposures to electronic cigarettes--United States, September 2010-February 2014.
Electronic nicotine delivery devices such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery-powered devices that deliver nicotine, flavorings (e.g., fruit, mint, and chocolate), and other chemicals via an inhaled aerosol. E-cigarettes that are marketed without a therapeutic claim by the product manufacturer are currently not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In many states, there are no restrictions on the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. Although e-cigarette use is increasing among U.S. adolescents and adults, its overall impact on public health remains unclear. One area of concern is the potential of e-cigarettes to cause acute nicotine toxicity. To assess the frequency of exposures to e-cigarettes and characterize the reported adverse health effects associated with e-cigarettes, CDC analyzed data on calls to U.S. poison centers (PCs) about human exposures to e-cigarettes (exposure calls) for the period September 2010 (when new, unique codes were added specifically for capturing e-cigarette calls) through February 2014. To provide a comparison to a conventional product with known toxicity, the number and characteristics of e-cigarette exposure calls were compared with those of conventional tobacco cigarette exposure calls.
Kevin
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Chatham-Stephens
Royal
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Law
Ethel
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Taylor
Paul
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Melstrom
Rebecca
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Bunnell
Baoguang
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Wang
Benjamin
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Apelberg
Joshua G
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Schier
D055615:Electrical Equipment and Supplies / Q000009:adverse effects*; D015277:Hotlines / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D011039:Poison Control Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors; D062789:Tobacco Products / Q000506:poisoning*; D014481:United States