Association For The Treatment Of Tobacco Use And Dependence Supports The FDA Ban Of 'Electronic' Cigarettes

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Article Date: 15 May 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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The Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence (ATTUD), the premier professional organization of tobacco treatment specialists, today announced its support of the FDA ban on so-called "electronic" or e-cigarettes. The letter addressed to Acting Commissioner Sharfstein (see below) stated that there is no scientific evidence that the e-cigarettes are safe and effective.

"As tobacco treatment professionals we are concerned that smokers desperate to quit will place their faith in unproven therapies," said John Hughes, MD, President-elect of ATTUD and professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. "Money spent on unproven treatments is money unavailable for proven, FDA-approved treatments," Dr. Hughes continued.

Furthermore, an unsuccessful attempt can precipitate a sense of failure, which can delay another quit attempt for years. Unfortunately, this can mean that some smokers will die or suffer serious disease after an unsuccessful quitting effort. While ATTUD supports the quit attempts of all tobacco users, it strongly encourages all smokers to use FDA-approved and proven medications with the support of tobacco treatment professionals.

Source
The Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence

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