First 5 Solano commission amends tobacco policy to include e-cigarettes

November 12, 2014

SOLANO COUNTY – The First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission amended their Tobacco Education, Prevention, and Investment Policy to include additional tobacco and nicotine products, including electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) at their Oct. 17 meeting.

The policy change is a direct response to the recent uptick in e-cigarette usage and accidental child poisonings caused by tobacco and/or nicotine products in Solano County.

"We were made aware of the hazards of e-cigarettes and recognized the need to amend existing policy," said Patrick Duterte, Former Health and Social Services Director and First 5 Commissioner.  “The revised policy now includes e-cigarettes and other forms of tobacco and nicotine products, intended to prevent child exposure and accidental poisonings.”

The American Association of Poison Control Centers reports receiving more than 3,000 e-cigarette and liquid nicotine exposures between Jan. and Sept, 2014.  More than half of all exposures reported were by children under the age of six.  Exposure includes direct contact with the substance in some way, including ingestion, inhaled and absorbed by the skin or eyes.

Solano County saw a 51 percent increase of accidental poisonings during the same timeframe, all involving e-cigarette-type products. The increase can be attributed to the saturation of smoke shops, availability of smoking products and lack of safety measures on tobacco products.

E-cigarettes are not regulated by the state, federal government or Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are not a recommended method for quitting smoking.

First 5 Solano and Poison Control request the community's assistance to prevent potential exposures in young children by discouraging the use of tobacco and nicotine products and keeping them out of reach at home.

The Solano County Public Health Division reports that if exposed, e-cigarettes can cause throat irritation, mouth ulcers, dry cough, dizziness, headache, nausea, allergic reactions, and short-term adverse lung function similar to cigarettes. On rare occasions, electronic smoking devices have also been known to explode.

Protect your own skin when handling tobacco and e-cigarette related products by always following the safety instructions indicated on the label. If you or someone you know may have been exposed to potentially harmful chemicals, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222 or 911 for life threatening emergencies.

For more information on poison control, visit Cal Poison Control’s website http://www.aapcc.org.  For resources on tobacco cessation, visit Solano’s Tobacco Education and Prevention Program’s website http://www.tobaccofreesolano.org/