As the state's regulation of e-cigarette and vaping products gets underway, debate continues over the use of the alternate nicotine products as smoking-cessation tools.
While some e-cigarette and vape users say the devices have helped them quit traditional cigarettes altogether, studies of their use offer conflicting information.
Nick LaBanca, co-owner of Vapor-Riffic in Conway, first turned to vaping to help his wife -- a smoker for 35 years -- step away from traditional cigarettes.
"She started out using [e-liquid with] 12 milligrams of nicotine, and by the second week was down to 6 milligrams," LaBanca says. "After two years, she doesn't smoke, and doesn't even vape that much."
Michael Elias, owner of Le Cig in De Queen, has similar stories of customers switching from traditional cigarettes to vaping and noticing a difference in their sense of smell and an ability to breathe more clearly.
"My dad died from smoking," Elias says. "If someone quits smoking and a year or two later wants to go back, I'd tell them to pick up this, not go back to the cigarettes and all the chemicals."
The British government agrees. In August, the National Health Service endorsed the use of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool. In its statement, Public Health England cited a study it commissioned that found e-cigarettes to be 95 percent less harmful than traditional cigarettes.
But in the same month, a study involving 10 Los Angeles high schools by researchers at the University of Southern California concluded that teenagers who use e-cigarettes or vaping products are more likely to eventually use traditional cigarettes or tobacco products.
Dr. Gary Wheeler, medical director of the Arkansas Department of Health's Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, says despite actions by England, he still has significant concerns about the safety of the devices and their potential use in smoking cessation.
"I'm looking for confirmatory studies," he says. "From a public health standpoint, our goal is to reduce nicotine use. It's an addictive drug. The hypothesis that products like [e-cigarettes and vaping] can be used to reduce dependence on nicotine has not at this point been shown to be true."
In the meantime, Wheeler warns consumers to be wary of smoking cessation claims by e-cigarette and e-liquid manufacturers.
"Why would any business develop a product that would help their consumers stop using their product?" Wheeler says. "They know these products will lead to nicotine addiction. Any other arguments they make are wrong. They aren't allowed to go out and make health claims."
ActiveStyle on 09/14/2015