รายงานผลการศึกษาเกี่ยวกับบุหรี่ไฟฟ้า Ruyan e-Cigarette ของ Health New Zealand Ltd.

http://www.healthnz.co.nz/2ndSafetyReport_9Apr08.pdf

http://www.healthnz.co.nz/coynews.htm

The Ruyan® (nicotine) e-cigarette   http://www.healthnz.co.nz/ecigarette.htm

How safe is the e-cigarette? Poster presentation to 14^th Annual meeting, Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, Portland Oregon, 1 March 2008  http://www.healthnz.co.nz/Portland2008ECIG.pdf

Health New Zealand Ltd.    http://www.healthnz.co.nz

Summary
Aim This report aims to assist regulators in initial assessment of the safety of the Ruyan® e-cigarette, and the possible risks and benefits from permitting its sale.

Safety The Ruyan® e-cigarette is designed to be a safe alternative to smoking, and on examination from a number of aspects, appears to very safe relative to cigarettes, and also safe in absolute terms on all measurements we have applied. Using micro-electronics it vapourizes, separately for each puff, very small quantities of nicotine dissolved in propylene glycol, two small well- known molecules with excellent safety profiles, – into a fine aerosol. Each puff contains one third to one half the nicotine in a tobacco cigarette’s puff. The cartridge liquid is tobacco-free and no combustion occurs.

By May 2008 at latest, we intend to release results of our study of efficacy of the e-cigarette in raising nicotine blood levels and in relieving cigarette cravings. That study was of smokers using the e-cigarette for the first time, without prior experience of its use.

By June or July 2008, we plan another edition of this report, in response to findings to date. Upgrade of the cartridge liquid is planned to eliminate traces of contaminants.

Once on sale, its on-going safety profile depends on 1) good manufacturing practice and pharmaceutical-grade purity of the nicotine and propylene glycol used in the cartridge liquid. 2) the prevention of shared use which could result in cross infection.

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Comments :

An electronic cigarette which could give smokers their nicotine hit without all those harmful ingredients which presently exist in cigarette smoke might actually help them to beat their addiction, New Zealand scientists claim.

Auckland University researchers are recruiting 48 smokers who want to quit, to take part in the world’s first trial of the “e-cigarette“. Hayden McRobbie, from the university’s clinical trials research unit, said the e-cigarette which is presently sold by a Chinese company over the internet for $200 each, is marketed as an alternative to smoking rather than a tool to stop smoking.

Doctor McRobbie said they think it might actually prove more effective than current nicotine replacement treatments, such as patches and gum, because smoking is not just a chemical addiction, it is also behavioural.

The device is “smoked” like a conventional cigarette, and even glows at the tip when the smoker draws on it. A vaporiser device delivers a measured dose of nicotine in a mist.

Ex-smokers have often said they miss the ritual of smoking: the e-cigarette gives them something to do with their hands - as an ex-smoker myself, it was something I missed as I successfully withdrew from my smoking habit through the aid of patches, back in 1991.

Alternatives need to be looked at to help smoking addicts. While nicotine is the active ingredient in cigarettes - it is the tars, carbon monoxide and the other chemicals that make up the over 200 poisons that exist in cigarettes. These cause the heart and lung diseases that kill 4500 New Zealanders a year - out of a population of 4.25 million.

Researchers hope the New Zealand study will be completed by March of 2008. This will benefit those involved in anti - smoking programs worldwide.

Making it easier for smokers to quit, and for NZ to end cigarette sales by law within 10 years     http://www.smokeless.org.nz/