Reuters.uk

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday against using electronic cigarettes, saying there was no evidence to prove they were safe or helped smokers break the habit.

First made in China and sold mainly over the Internet in countries including Brazil, Britain, Canada and Israel, they have grown in popularity despite a lack of regulatory approval, it said.

(Made in China: We all know how well they regulate their chemical trade, especially for the foreign markets.)

A typical electronic cigarette is made of metal tube with a chamber which holds liquid nicotine in a rechargeable cartridge. Users puff on it but do not light it, leading some to use it to evade smoking bans in public places, according to the WHO.

However, they inhale a fine mist of nicotine into their lungs, “plus potentially many other toxic compounds which we are not sure of”, said to Douglas Bettcher, acting director of the WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative.

The WHO was greatly concerned that some manufacturers had used the WHO name or logo on their package or website, falsely implying endorsement, Bettcher said, declining to name names.

The agency was contacting health authorities in its 193 member states to alert them of “these bogus, untested false claims”. Turkey had already banned sales, he said.

Nicotine is seriously addictive which is why the tobacco companies tried to grow plants with a higher nicotine content.

It seems to me that these are just an expensive way to delude yourself into thinking you’re going to quit while continuing to inhale large amounts of the very drug you’re trying to kick.

The capacity of people for self delusion is only exceeded by the capacity of other people to try and profit from it.