10.2. SR 09-08-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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3 1 Background 1.1 What are e-cigarettes? E-cigarettes generally consist of a battery, a heating coil and a liquid containing nicotine. Drawing on the e-cigarette or pressing a switch activates the battery to heat the coil, which vaporises the liquid. This is then inhaled and the nicotine absorbed into the blood via mouth, throat and lungs. The liquids contain nicotine, water, a ‘diluent’ such as propylene glycol or glycerol, and a flavouring, such as tobacco, mint, vanilla or fruit. There are now hundreds of flavours and these are an intrinsic part of the appeal. The devices and the liquids can be sold as integrated units or with liquids sold separately. Some look like cigarettes (1st generation ‘cig-a-likes’), some look like pens (2nd generation ‘Ego’ type), and the larger ones with tanks can look very distinctively different (3rd generation ‘tanks’ or ‘mods’). Types of e-cigarette or vaping equipment 1.2 How have e-cigarettes come about? The products have emerged only recently (since 2007) thanks to advances in battery technology, which can now provide sufficient power to vaporise an adequate flow of liquid and sufficient battery life to make devices practical. This has been the key enabling development – partly a spin-off from mobile phone technology. E-cigarettes first emerged in China, which is still the largest manufacturer by far, with increasingly sophisticated plant and designs. 1.3 How much are e-cigarettes used? A survey conducted for Action on Smoking and Health estimated that there were 2.1 million adults in Great Britain using electronic cigarettes in March 2014. Of these, approximately 700,000 were ex- smokers while 1.3 million continued to use tobacco alongside their electronic cigarette use. Electronic cigarette use amongst never-smokers was negligible 1. For the US, CDC gives frequent use at 1.9% of adults and any e-cigarette use at 4.2% of adults 2, equating to around 4.6 and 10.1 million users respectively. A synthesis of 10 country surveys 3 identified widespread use in many countries, including substantial use in those such as Australia where the products are, in practice, banned. According to this survey 7% of Australian smokers and former smokers were current users of e- cigarettes in 2013. This is likely to be a significant contributor to declines in smoking in Australia. 1 ASH, Fact sheet: Use of electronic cigarettes in Great Britain, October 2014 [link] 2 CDC, Tobacco Product Use Among Adults — United States, 2012–2013 [link] 3 Gravely S, Fong GT, Cummings KM, et al. Awareness, Trial, and Current Use of Electronic Cigarettes in 10 Countries: Findings from the ITC Project. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2014; 11: 11691–704. [link]