Tennessee Department of Health Offices statewide to display Public Health Advisory on Electronic Cigarettes

Nashville, TN – Visitors to Tennessee Department of Health facilities across the state will see a prominently-displayed public health advisory on electronic cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems.

The advisory, originally posted to the TDH website earlier this year, cautions about using the devices or being exposed to secondhand emissions.

“The additional independent research we’ve seen on electronic cigarettes has increased our concerns since we issued the initial advisory in February,” said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “While we believe more science-based research needs to be done, Tennesseans need to have information about what is known now about how these devices can impact health.”

Electronic cigarettes may emit a variety of chemicals. Most of these emissions have nicotine as a base ingredient, a highly addictive substance that can raise heart rate and blood pressure and damage coronary arteries. Currently there is no government regulation of how much nicotine, or any other unknown chemicals, a manufacturer may put in each electronic cigarette.

A growing number of countries have either banned or restricted their use due to possible health risks both for users and for those exposed to second-hand emissions.

Since TDH issued the advisory in February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed rules calling for regulation of electronic nicotine devices, including health warnings similar to those required for conventional tobacco cigarettes.

To read the TDH Public Health Advisory on electronic cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery products, visit http://health.state.tn.us/downloads/PHA_ElectronicTobacco.pdf

About the Tennessee Department of Health

The mission of the Tennessee Department of Health is to protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. TDH has facilities in all 95 counties and provides direct services for more than one in five Tennesseans annually as well as indirect services for everyone in the state, including emergency response to health threats, licensure of health professionals, regulation of health care facilities and inspection of food service establishments.

Learn more about TDH services and programs at http://health.state.tn.us/