Reports of e-cigarette injury jump amid rising popularity, U.S. data show

Complaints of injury linked to e-cigarettes, from burns and nicotine toxicity to respiratory and cardiovascular problems, have jumped over the past year as the devices become more popular, the most recent U.S. data show.

Between March 2013 and March 2014, more than 50 complaints about e-cigarettes were filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to data obtained through a public records request. That is on par with the combined number reported over the previous five years.

The health problems were not necessarily caused by e-cigarettes. And it is not clear that the rate of adverse events has increased. In 2011, about 21 percent of adult smokers had used e-cigarettes, according to federal data, more than double the rate in 2010.

Still, David Ashley, director of the office of science at the FDA's tobacco division, said the uptick is significant, especially in light of a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing an increase in the number of e-cigarette-related calls to poison control centers.

"Both together does suggest there are more instances going on," he said.

The FDA is poised to regulate e-cigarettes and other "vaping" devices for the first time, potentially reshaping an industry that generates roughly $2 billion a year in the United States. Some industry analysts see e-vapor consumption outpacing that of traditional cigarettes, now an $85 billion industry, within a decade.

E-cigarettes are battery-powered cartridges filled with a nicotine liquid that, when heated, creates an inhalable mist. Little is known about the long-term health effects of the products, which were developed in China and moved into the U.S. market in 2007.

"Some evidence suggests that e-cigarette use may facilitate smoking cessation, but definitive data are lacking," Dr. Priscilla Callahan-Lyon of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products wrote in a recent medical journal article.

Contradictory findings from preliminary studies have become ammunition in the lobbying campaign around the devices, which allow users to inhale nicotine without the damaging tar produced by conventional cigarettes.

Public health officials have said the devices may encourage

nonsmokers, particularly young people, to try conventional cigarettes. E-cigarette advocates have argued that they provide a safer alternative for smokers.

The FDA has sponsored research to try to answer safety questions, and it is examining its database of adverse events for any trends that might raise concerns.

RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS

The complaints from the public filed with the FDA cited trouble breathing, headache, cough, dizziness, sore throat, nose bleeds, chest pain or other cardiovascular problems, and allergic reactions such as itchiness and swelling of the lips.