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Lifelong Security in a place you call home. e Village at McLean Assisted Living | Memory Care Assisted Living Enhanced Assisted Living Post-Acute Care / Short-Term Rehabilitation Long-Term Care Home Care & Hospice Outpatient Rehabilitation & Wellness Programs Campus Clinic 860-658-3700 One Community. A Continuum of Care. 75 Great Pond Road | Simsbury, CT 06070 | McLeanCare.org Community matters. And always has. As a not-for-profit senior living and healthcare continuum with over four decades of providing exceptional care in a supportive community, your comfort and quality of life are our primary focus — it was how we began and how we continue to grow. Care matters. Consistently recognized for top performance in healthcare quality and service excellence, you can be confident that our promise to care for you or your loved ones is a promise we deliver, every day. Stability matters. At the heart of our commitment to you is the ability to meet the needs of our campus and community, while staying true to our mission and remaining financially sound — providing both you and your family with lasting peace of mind. However, its members must be careful not to run afoul of federal rules related to advertising health claims. "SFATA and its members do not make any health or cessation claims in their marketing," the industry group's website says. If e-cig manufacturers truly believe their products can be used for cessation, they should apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to commercialize them as a medical product, Perez said. Ruth Canovi, manager of public policy for the American Lung Association in Connecticut, agrees. "Until and unless the FDA approves a specific elec- tronic nicotine delivery system or e-cigarette as safe and effective for use as a tobacco-cessation aid, the American Lung Association does not support their use for cessation or any direct or implied claims that e-cigarettes help smokers quit," Canovi said. The FDA has approved various smoking-cessation products, from the nicotine-free medication Chantix to replacement therapies like nicotine gum. But vap- ing is not yet an approved therapy. One challenge for vaping research, which is not en- tirely unique, is that industry money funds a number of the studies, Perez said. The state of Connecticut began regulating vaping in 2016, when it required dealers and manufacturers to start registering with the Department of Consum- er Protection and banned vaping in any place where smoking is not allowed, such as restaurants and bars. As of DCP's most recent data, there were 1,087 vaping dealers and 30 manufacturers registered in the state. In fiscal year 2017, those businesses generated $511,850 in state tax dollars through application, initial registration and renewal fees. A doctor's word — the best medicine? Perez said when a health provider just tells a pa- tient to quit smoking, it has a substantial effect. "We also know that using proper counseling along with nicotine replacement therapy and FDA- approved pharmaceutical interventions does have a significant effect on helping patients quit smoking," he said. The DPH's Walsh said that smokers report an aver- age of seven attempts at quitting before successfully doing so for good. Walsh said using the seven FDA-approved tobacco- use cessation medications — the patch, gum, inhaler, nasal spray, lozenge, Zyban or Chantix — in combina- tion with tobacco-use cessation counseling is proven to work. Walsh added that cessation services are available to all Connecticut residents through the telephone Quitline (1-800-Quit-Now). Canovi said that the U.S. Public Health Service has found that the seven therapies approved by the FDA in combination with individual, group or phone ces- sation counseling are the most effective way to help smokers quit. y PHOTO | BILL MORGAN Dr. Perez is trying to dertmine the difference in health effects of smokers and vapers. BY THE NUMBERS 1,087 The number of e-cigarette dealers registered in the state. 30 The number of vaping manufacturers in Connecticut. $511,850 The amount of revenue Connecticut raised through vaping industry registration and other fees in fiscal 2017. 6 THE GREATER HARTFORD HEALTH CARE RESOURCE GUIDE • Fall 2017