No matter whether you call them electronic cigarettes, e-cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems, or vaporizers, they are everywhere. A recent Internet search using "e-cigarette" retrieved a list of 10 sites, eight of them promoting their use and including sources for purchasing everything needed for using them. Only two of the sites offer objective facts about their use.

From the advent of the nicotine inhalers introduced by smoking cessation programs to the present day use of electronic delivery systems, it has become big business to vaporize enhanced fluids rather than smoke tobacco for the next dose of nicotine. Many people continue to refer to these products as adjuncts to quitting smoking, but there is very little evidence that supports the efficacy of using these products to quit smoking or the safety of using them in any way. Here is some food for thought.

[shadowed white circle] https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/electronic-cigarettes-e-cigaret

For a plain-language research summary describing how e-cigarettes work, their safety as compared with traditional cigarettes, and the role they might play in smoking cessation, visit the above Web site of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This DrugFacts publication Electronic Cigarettes is current for June 2017 and speaks with the accuracy, authority, and objectivity of NIDA and its subject matter experts. There are no fees or special software needed to access the information. This is a resource for both professionals and lay people with references included. The page has a link to a video with Nora Volkow discussing the findings from a study on adolescents and e-cigarettes and a summary of the 2016 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations on electronic cigarettes.

[shadowed white circle] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz67IqkLwYs&feature=youtu.be

For visual learners, the NIDA TV Spotlight on Electronic Cigarettes video summarizes the facts about electronic cigarettes in this NIDA TV interview with Dr. Thomas Eissenberg, a professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. His discussion on electronic cigarette research was hosted in Rockville, Maryland, by the National Institutes of Health Tobacco and Nicotine Research Interest Group. The above link is to a 3-minute YouTube video that can also be viewed at http://www.drugabuse.gov/nida-research. This format makes it very easy to share this information with any audience. No special software, permissions, or funds are needed. The information is from October 2013, so it might be a little dated.

[shadowed white circle] https://www.fda.gov/tobaccoproducts/labeling/productsingredientscomponents/ucm45

The FDA Web site has a very comprehensive section on tobacco products. One page within this section is "Vapes, E-Cigs, Hookah Pens, and Other Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)." This information is appropriate for all types of audience. It speaks with authority, accuracy, and objectivity. The information is current as of September 18, 2017. If viewers want different file versions, they can access any needed assistance through a link for viewers and players. Links are also available for translating the information into various languages, to connect to the FDA, to share to social media, and to print or email it. The page also has links for the references used and for additional resources that viewers might be interested in accessing. One of these links is to the FDA regulations governing these products.

[shadowed white circle] https://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/RulesRegulationsGuidance/ucm394909.

Whether you are a manufacturer, retailer, or consumer of electronic cigarettes, there is something for you on the FDA page explaining the new regulations. All the same criteria are met for this page, and it was updated last August 17, 2017. Full contact information is included along with how to courier applications. There are links to references, resources, Webinars, and documents. Updates to the regulatory process are included.

[shadowed white circle] https://betobaccofree.hhs.gov/about-tobacco/Electronic-Cigarettes/index.html

The BeTobaccoFree Web site sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services covers facts and figures of tobacco, nicotine and tobacco, smoked and smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and the new FDA regulations. This is a credible Web site meeting all criteria for accuracy, authority, and objectivity. The material is easy to access and has links for printing it out, emailing it, and sharing it to social media. This is current with one form valid through 2020 and contact information for the experts behind the site. Additional links on the page take you to the FDA for the latest news and events, the basics of e-cigarettes, and reported adverse events. This site contains general information that is appropriate for professionals and the lay public.

[shadowed white circle] https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/knowtherisks.html

Although much of the information to be found is applicable to the general population, this is a link to a page directed at educating adolescents about the risks associated with the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems. The authority, accuracy, and objectivity come from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of the U. Surgeon General, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office on Smoking and Health. This is current to 2017 and contains links to viewers and players and for sharing the Web site. All contact information is included. Although this site could be used by professionals and the lay public, it is directed to adolescents.

[shadowed white circle] https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/documents/2016_SGR_Full_Report_non-508.p

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2016). E-cigarette use among youth and young adults. A report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.

This is an almost 300-page report summarizing what is known about electronic cigarettes and youth and young adults from the literature and research studies. In addition to the chapters on patterns of use and health effects for youth and young adults, this report includes an introduction to electronic cigarettes, their historical background, information on the activities of the manufacturers of this product, and some policy and practice implications. Conclusions are drawn at the end of each chapter, and a list of major conclusions is drawn for the report. References are also included for each chapter and for the report.

The above link allows full access to an electronic copy that can be downloaded, saved, printed, or shared. It can also be accessed at https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/e-cigarettes/index.htm.

[shadowed white circle] https://www.cdc.gov/features/ecigarettes-young-people/index.html

The above link connects to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention page "E-Cigarettes and Young People: A Public Health Concern." Reviewed and updated on January 2017, this page meets all the criteria for currency, objectivity, authority, and accuracy. There are links to resources for parents that include educational videos, facts sheets, and a tip sheet. All the necessary contact information is there. Links are included for accessing the information in various file formats. There are links to other Web pages and resources we have discussed here and to share through email or a variety of social media sites.

I encourage you to review these sites and then conduct your own Internet search for other aspects of this topic. Remember, it will not be the top results. You want government or educational sites. Look at the dates on the site. Don't use sites that want to sell you something, warn you about the content, or ask you to agree to not hold them accountable. All credible sites will stand behind their information. Have fun searching!