“Control sale, use of e-cigarettes” (Star-Advertiser, Our View, Feb. 3), rightly argues for the need to regulate e-cigarettes, and refers to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Not mentioned, however, were the accompanying NEJM editorials, which emphasize the concern of medical experts about e-cigar- ettes because of their relation to respiratory disease in addition to effects of nicotine.

Our research in Hawaii has shown that persons who use e-cigarettes are more likely to be diagnosed with asthma in adolescence and with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (bronchitis and emphysema) in adulthood. This has been confirmed in studies of adults in Sweden and in California.

Also, a number of laboratory studies have shown ways in which e-cigarette vapor damages airway tissue and the functioning of cilia, the fine hairs that remove contaminants from the lung.

Proponents for e-cigarettes often claim that e-cigarettes are “95 percent safer than cigarettes.” If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Thomas A. Wills

Cancer Prevention Program, University of Hawaii Cancer Center

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