E-cigarettes and marketing: A cause for alarm?

1. E-cigarettes and marketing: A cause for alarm?

2. E-cig: Nicotine, No Tobacco Heats up nicotine instead of burning it No carcinogens or tar Blows out vapors A mix of water, nicotine, artificial smoke flavor and propylene glycol

3. A disassembled cigarette-styled electronic cigarette. A. LED light cover B. battery (also houses circuitry) C. atomizer (heating element) D. cartridge (mouthpiece) An electronic cigarette battery connected to a USB charger.

5. E-cigarettes: A Reduced Risk Product? A Cessation Product? FDA analyses (2009) show the presence of carcinogens (nitrosamines), toxic chemicals (diethlene glycol), and harmful tobacco-specific components (anabasine, myosmine, beta-nicotyrine). There are no standards imposed on their manufacturing process or quality of nicotine There are no studies supporting the safe use of this product

6. “…Celebrity endorsements are next in the world of electronic cigarettes.“ E-cigarette industry icon Andy Gray

7. Electronic Cigarettes Break into Late Night with Katherine Heigl on Letterman

8. Electronic Cigarettes Break into Hollywood with Johnny Depp in 'The Tourist’

9. What can you and your youth do about it? • Research: Learn about e-cigarettes at http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm172906.htm. Learn more about smoke-free movies at www.smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu. • Analyze: Review movies and tv shows for any type of tobacco product placement • FDA: Share your concerns about e-cigarettes with the FDA at http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/

10. What can you and your youth do about it? • Hollywood: Write letters to the celebrities and/or the CEOs of the companies that own the major movie studios. • Movie Theaters: Write letters to the major theater corporations (such as AMC) and the local branches asking them to show anti-tobacco PSAs before movies with any type of smoking or tobacco use in them. • Motion Picture Association of America: Write letters to the Motion Picture Association of America asking them to keep smoking, even e-cigarette smoking, out of future youth-rated movies using their own voluntary rating system.

11. From Michelle’s TRU Club in Guilford County: Dear Ms Heigl I am a member of a youth advocacy group against the use of tobacco products called TRU (Tobacco Reality Unfiltered). I recently saw a clip of you on the David Letterman Show where you discussed your issues with smoking both in the past and presently. You then went on to pull out an e-cigarette, and told Letterman that it was your current method of battling smoking per say. You even shared the e-cigarette with Letterman and both went on having a good time being hilarious with it. First of all, I just wanted to say that you are an amazingly talented, and beautiful woman. I thought you were phenomenal in Grey's Anatomy and Knocked Up. I am pretty sure that you have multitudes of other fans like myself, both young and old. Your younger fans, who consider you as a role model, are more likely to be influenced by your actions, and therefore, I was not in favor of the way you and Letterman handled the topic of e-cigarettes. You both made it seem like it was a harmless substance, and made it seem almost "cool" as a matter of fact. Just imagine a very impressionable high school student sitting in front of their TV and watching this_they might even want to take up the habit seeing that you're doing it and you don't really seem appear to be negatively affected by it. I want to also touch on the topic of the e-cigarettes themstruelves. E-cigarettes are advertised by their manufacturers as a safer alternative to smoking due to the water vapor that is released, and also on the notion that the harmful chemicals in tobacco are not present in them. However, E-cigarettes are relatively new, and there isn't much information known about them in relation their effects on the human body. Here's a statistic: "In May 2009 (JUST LAST YEAR!!), the US FDA's Analysis tested the contents of 19 varieties of electronic cigarette cartridges produced by two vendors. Diethylene glycol was detected in one of the cartridges. The study also found that the actual nicotine levels did not always correspond to the amount of nicotine that the cartridges claimed to contain. The analysis found traces of nicotine in some cartridges that claimed to be nicotine-free. In July 2009, the FDA issued a press release discouraging the use of electronic cigarettes and repeating previously mentioned concerns that electronic cigarettes may be marketed to young people and lack appropriate health warnings." With that being said, e-cigs are not to be trusted!!! I am fully aware that it is a difficult and emotional journey trying to quit smoking, but Ms. Heigl, you are a world- famous actress with an Emmy, a Screen Actor's Guild Award, and numerous nominations for what you do and who you are. I'm pretty sure that you didn't get up there overnight. Like most people, you probably had your ups, your downfalls, your rejection and your disappointment on the way to the top, but the important thing is that you got there in the end! You should definitely keep trying to quit by using all the resources that you can, like 1-800-QUIT-NOW and so on. And when you finally do it, you will be showing those fans that look up to you that THEY also can achieve anything they want as long as they work hard, and persevere! Sincerely, Emmanuel Osuji (TRU)