If It's Not Regulated, How Can It Be Safer Than Sucking Smoke?Jacob Sullum | June 3, 2009, 1:53pmIn a front-page story about electronic cigarettes, The New York Times predictably misses the crucial point that they are far less dangerous than conventional cigarettes, since they produce nicotine vapor without tobacco or smoke. The story opens with an anecdote about a woman who cuts her cigarette consumption in half with the help of an e-cigarette that delivers "an odorless dose of nicotine and flavoring without cigarette tar or additives," a description that suggests all these features are of equal salience. Yet almost all of the hazards of smoking are due to smoking, so eliminating combustion products makes a huge difference. ...
