As an ex-smoker whose life has been significantly improved since switching to smoke-free electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), I was shocked to see Richard D. Fox of the York Housing Authority spread misinformation about these life-changing products in his June 29 letter to the editor.
In his letter, Mr. Fox claims that tests by the Food and Drug Administration found that electronic cigarettes contain carcinogens and other toxic chemicals. Mr. Fox wholly fails to note that the FDA's testing did not find carcinogens or any harmful chemicals in the actual vapor produced by an e-cigarette.
Is Mr. Fox even aware of that the nicotine patch, gum and lozenge all contain trace levels of carcinogens? Or that multiple studies, including one recently published in the scientific journal Indoor Air, have assessed e-cigarette vapor and found it to be non-toxic?
What about the fact that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's new smoke-free apartments toolkit only recommends banning products that actually create smoke? Or that the public housing authority in Seattle, Wash., as well as the city council in Alameda, Calif., both voted unanimously to remove e-cigarettes from now-enacted smoke-free housing policies over the past year?
And how exactly does York Housing Authority plan to enforce a ban on the use of a smoke-free product in people's homes? Unlike combustible cigarettes, e-cigarettes leave behind no smell, no ashes and no butts. Simply put, the only person capable of determining whether an e-cigarette is being used in someone's apartment will be a lecherous neighbor with a telescope.
The York Daily Record was correct to characterize the ban on e-cigarette use as absurd. I only hope the York Housing Authority recognizes this.
BRANDI TURNEY
YORK
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