Continuing Debate Over E-Cigs; FDA Bans Some Cigarettes from India

By Joe Elia

The ongoing debate over whether electronic cigarettes actually get smokers off tobacco or merely pave the way to Marlboro Country got front-page play in Sunday's New York Times.

Michael Siegel, a public health researcher, and Stanton Glantz, a professor of medicine, sharply disagree over the safety of e-cigs. Siegel sees them as a "disruptive technology" that could eliminate tobacco, while Glantz worries that the new technology will merely attract children toward smoking and prolong adults' nicotine addiction.

Meanwhile, in other cigarette news, the FDA has banned four types of bidi cigarettes, which are popular in India (and used by about 2% of U.S. adolescents, according to the CDC). The ban occurred because the manufacturer failed to specify all ingredients in the products.