Mashantucket, Conn. — Children who want to act grown-up often pretend to smoke candy cigarettes. Nowadays, adults can pretend as well with electronic cigarettes like Cigotine.
Foxwoods Resort Casino and its sister property, MGM Grand at Foxwoods, now sell Cigotine kits and cartridges at four retail outlets. The “e-cigarette” will be permitted in areas now designated as nonsmoking.
“It’s a clean, non-polluting product offering the same experience of a cigarette without releasing second-hand smoke,” said Roy Colebut-Ingram, director of advertising for Foxwoods.
This marks Cigotine’s first casino partnership, said Steve Bayonne, CEO of Cigotine LLC.
Unlike Atlantic City, where state law limits smoking, casinos in Connecticut are not bound by state or tribal law, but are considered a service for customers, Colebut-Ingram said.
Cigotine looks, feels and tastes like a tobacco cigarette, but without the tar, chemicals and negative societal effects associated with smoking, Bayonne said. It comes in varying strengths of nicotine, from zero to 16 mg.
Users inhale like a traditional cigarette, then release simulated smoke as an odorless water mist that evaporates, leaving no residue behind. The cartridge is not burned and does not give off ash, smoke or residual odor.
Not everyone is convinced of e-cigarettes and their advantages over real ones.
“Use of these products creates major enforcement challenges to monitor what is or is not a cigarette,” said Patrice Bedrosian, state director of communications for the Connecticut office of the American Cancer Society. “Use of e-cigarettes in public places turns back years of progress in both creating healthier workplaces and promoting environments that help reduce smoking prevalence.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration examined two different electronic cigarette samples and found they contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals, including an ingredient used in antifreeze that is toxic to humans.
“The FDA is concerned about the safety of these products and how they are marketed to the public,” said Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., commissioner of food and drugs.
Blumenthal: Be wary
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said consumers and retailers — including tribal casinos — should be wary of electronic cigarettes.
“They remain unapproved by the FDA. Their safety remains questionable at best following the FDA analysis,” he said. “Any carcinogen in a cartridge should be avoided, even banned, when the full extent of the ingredients and dangers are unknown.”
The deluxe kit sells for $129.95 at Foxwoods. Cartridges are also for sale at MGM Grand’s Effects and in Foxwoods at Pequot Trader, Essentials and Outpost.
By WILLIAM SOKOLIC
Norwich Bulleti, May 08, 2010
