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Electronic Cigarettes

Get Help With Your E-Cigarette Lawsuit Tests conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have found that two popular brands of e-cigarettes electronic cigarettes contained carcinogens and other dangerous substances. Most e-cigarette users would be shocked at the materials found in these devices, including a highly toxic chemical used to make antifreeze. The […]

Get Help With Your E-Cigarette Lawsuit

Electronic cigarettesTests conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have found that two popular brands of e-cigarettes electronic cigarettes contained carcinogens and other dangerous substances. Most e-cigarette users would be shocked at the materials found in these devices, including a highly toxic chemical used to make antifreeze. The FDA also found that some e-cigarettes labeled as having no nicotine actually contained the addictive substance.

And yet, some companies that market e-cigarettes claim they are not as harmful as traditional cigarettes. What’s worse, e-cigarettes are often marketed and sold to young people, even children. Moreover, as the FDA begins to take action against some of the makers of these devices, a vaping industry trade group has actually fought back by suing the FDA; an e-cigarette lawsuit that seeks to delay enforcement of increased oversight by the agency.

Our e-cigarette lawyers are investigating potential lawsuits against the distributors of these highly dangerous products. If you use e-cigarettes because of claims that they are safer than traditional cigarettes, you may be entitled to compensation through an e-cigarette class-action lawsuit or individual legal action. Contact the e-cigarette lawyers at Parker Waichman LLP today for a free consultation to learn about your legal rights.

What Are E-Cigarettes?

E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that generally contain cartridges filled with a liquid containing nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. The electronic cigarette turns the nicotine, which is highly addictive, and other chemicals into a vapor that is inhaled by the user. E-cigarettes are sold online, in retail shops, and at mall kiosks around the country, with reusable devices selling for about $50 to $100.

Because many of these products have not been submitted to the FDA for evaluation or approval, there is no way of knowing how much nicotine or other chemicals they deliver to the user.  However, limited testing conducted by the FDA has raised alarms. They are also available in different flavors, such as chocolate and mint, which may appeal to young people. It took until 2016 for the FDA to announce that it would require nicotine warning labels on e-liquids, and the agency still faces legal challenges as it struggles to rein in and regulate these dangerous substances.

Evidence of E-Cigarette Dangers Mounts

Aside from the dangers of nicotine addiction, research has begun to uncover other health risks tied to use of vape devices. While many smokers may believe that e-cigarettes are a healthier option when compared to traditional cigarettes, researchers from the Karolinska Institute found that using e-cigarettes containing nicotine can actually increase the likelihood of suffering a heart attack or stroke. The Karolinska Institute, a medical university in Stockholm, found that using vaping devices containing nicotine can lead to stiffening of the arteries, an increase in heart rate, and increased blood pressure.

Upon reviewing the study, Dr. Tim Chico, a consultant cardiologist at the University of Sheffield, remarked that “electronic cigarettes are certain to have some health effects, and it is very important that non-smokers do not start using them erroneously thinking that they are harmless.”

Meanwhile, a 2017 University of Connecticut study found that e-cigarettes are potentially as harmful as tobacco cigarettes. Chemists used a new device that rapidly detects carcinogenic chemicals and DNA damage from e-cigarette vapor. Lead author Karteek Kadimisetty stated that “from the results of our study, we can conclude that e-cigarettes have as much potential to cause DNA damage as unfiltered regular cigarettes.”

The researchers also found that vapor from non-nicotine e-cigarettes caused the same level of DNA damage as filtered cigarettes, potentially due to the many chemical additives found in e-cigarette vapors. Cellular mutations caused by DNA damage may lead to cancer.

In August 2016, researchers from the University of Athens Medical School presented findings at the world’s largest cardiology conference suggesting that puffing on an e-cigarette for half an hour produced similar changes in stiffness in the aorta as tobacco cigarettes. Both products also increased blood pressure.

“E-cigarettes are less harmful, but they are not harmless,” said lead researcher Professor Charalambos Vlachopulos. “I wouldn’t recommend them as a method of giving up smoking.”

Evidence also shows that the flavorings used in e-liquid can induce acute inhalation toxicity at the cellular level. In a study published in the BMJ journal Tobacco Control, researchers from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo tested multiple flavoring agents and found that strawberry was the most toxic to bronchial cells, but flavors such as menthol, coffee, and piña colada were also harmful. And another study, this one in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found that e-cigarette flavorings trigger blood vessel dysfunction that raises a person’s risk of heart disease. This study found that the two most toxic flavorings were menthol and cinnamon.

FDA E-Cigarette Tests

Electronic Cigarettes

Because of its concerns about the safety of e-cigarettes, the FDA had its Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis test a small sample of cartridges from two leading brands of electronic cigarettes, Smoking Everywhere and Njoy. The tests found the following:

  • Diethylene glycol was detected in one cartridge at approximately one percent. Diethylene glycol, an ingredient used in antifreeze, is toxic to humans.
  • Certain tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are human carcinogens, were detected in half of the samples tested.
  • Tobacco-specific impurities suspected of being harmful to humans including anabasine, myosmine, and β-nicotyrine were detected in a majority of the samples tested.
  • The electronic cigarette cartridges labeled as containing no nicotine had low levels of nicotine present in all cartridges tested except one.
  • Three different electronic cigarette cartridges with the same label were tested, and each cartridge emitted a markedly different amount of nicotine with each puff. The nicotine levels per puff ranged from 26.8 to 43.2 mcg nicotine/100 mL puff.
  • One high-nicotine cartridge delivered twice as much nicotine to users when the vapor was inhaled than a sample of a nicotine inhalation product (used as a control) approved by FDA for use as a smoking cessation aid.

At an FDA news conference to discuss the e-cigarette test results, Jonathan Winickoff, MD, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Tobacco Consortium, expressed concerns that the devices, especially those that come in flavors, might appeal to kids. He said that e-cigarettes could cause kids to become addicted to nicotine and turn them into smokers.

In a statement that followed the release of the FDA test results, the American Lung Association said that it shared the agency’s concerns. The group urged the FDA “to act immediately to halt the sale and distribution of all e-cigarettes unless the products have been reviewed and approved for sale by the FDA.”

An e-cigarette lawsuit is an option for those who were misled into believing that using these devices is healthier than using regular cigarettes. Clearly, the science shows otherwise.

Federal Action Comes Slowly

The FDA was given the authority to regulate cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products in June 2009 under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. But only in 2016 was this authority expanded to include e-liquids as well as nicotine gels and dissolvables. The new regulations meant that vape juice containing nicotine would need to carry a warning label like cigarettes do, and sales could be strictly limited to people 18 and older.

“Before this final rule, these products could be sold without any review of their ingredients, how they were made, and their potential dangers,” said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “Under this new rule, we’re taking steps to protect Americans from the dangers of tobacco products, ensure these tobacco products have health warnings, and restrict sales to minors.”

Get Help With an E-Cigarette Class-Action Lawsuit

Thousands of people, even children, use e-cigarettes in the mistaken belief that these devices pose less risk than traditional cigarettes. In reality, they may be exposing themselves to dangerous, cancer-causing chemicals. An e-cigarette lawyer at Parker Waichman can help you make sure that the marketers of these products pay for their deceptive claims. We are offering free case evaluations to anyone interested in joining an e-cigarette class-action lawsuit, so you have nothing to lose by contacting us to learn about your legal rights.

When you contact our experienced attorneys about a potential electronic cigarette lawsuit, we’ll evaluate your case and advise you on what steps you should take next, and we’ll do so with absolutely no obligation. We’re dedicated to helping people get the best information and empowering them to exercise their legal rights. And if you choose our law firm to handle your claim, we’ll fight tirelessly on your behalf to secure every penny of compensation you deserve from an e-cigarette lawsuit settlement or jury award. Plus, since we work on a contingency-fee-basis, you’ll pay nothing out of pocket for our services; we take our fee from a portion of the funds we recover for you.

Get the skilled legal help you need to pursue an e-cigarette lawsuit settlement today: Fill out our online contact form or call 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER (1-800-968-7529) for your free consultation.

Need Legal Help Regarding Electronic Cigarettes?

The personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. For more information, fill out our online contact form or call 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529).

 

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