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4 Myths About E-Cigarettes
By Anne Harding
Advocates tout the e-cigarette as a clean alternative to
old-fashioned tobacco, one that can even help people quit smoking.
But although the companies making these largely unregulated
products promote e-cigarettes as safe and pure, the reality is a little more
complicated.
Here are four common misconceptions about e-cigarettes, and
the scientific evidence against them.
Myth 1: Vapor from e-cigs is pure
The liquid "vaped" in an e-cigarette contains nicotine, water and a solvent (usually
glycerine or propylene glycol).
It may also contain flavoring agents, such as oil of
wintergreen.
Although this mixture may sound pure enough, neither the
liquid (called the e-liquid) nor the device's delivery system are regulated;
this means e-cigarettes could produce harmful chemicals.
In fact, recent studies have identified impurities ranging
from formaldehyde to heavy metals in e-cig vapor.
And vaporized propylene glycol is a known eye and
respiratory irritant.
One recent study found formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and
acetone in the vapor of several different e-cigarette models and liquid
nicotine products found formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone.
"We found nicotine, of course, but
we also found some potentially dangerous compounds," said study researcher Maciej Goniewicz, an assistant
professor of oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York.
What's more, users can amp up the voltage of an e-cig
delivery device, resulting in a denser, more nicotine-rich vapor.
Goniewicz and his team found that at a higher voltage and
hotter temperature, levels of harmful chemicals increased, too.
The vapor had a lower chemical content than tobacco smoke,
but there was "huge variability" among the products tested, Goniewicz
told Live Science.
"It doesn't mean that each product
will expose users to high levels of formaldehyde, but there is a risk for
sure," he said.
Myth 2: E-cigs are safe
In addition to potential toxicity from chemical byproducts,
which could harm users over the long term, e-cigs carry another safety risk.
Liquid nicotine is extremely toxic when swallowed, and in some
case reports, infants and children have accidentally ingested the substance.
The chances of this happening may increase with flavored
liquid nicotine, which may come in enticing-looking packages and can smell
tempting, according to new research.
"It mistakenly has this reputation
for being safe because it's purchased over the counter, but it easily can be
fatal if it's taken in high doses,"
said Dr. Robert A. Bassett, a medical toxicologist and emergency medicine
physician at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia.
Bassett and his colleagues reported a case of liquid
nicotine poisoning in a 10-month-old infant in the May 7 issue of JAMA.
The boy recovered within a few hours, but nicotine poisoning
could easily be fatal, Bassett said.
A teaspoon of standard liquid nicotine would be enough to
kill a person who weighs 200 pounds (90 kilograms), Bassett and his colleagues
noted in their report.
Myth 3: E-cigs can help you quit smoking
The few studies looking at whether or not using e-cigs helps people kick the habit have had
mixed results.
Some studies have found people who tried e-cigs wound up smoking
fewer regular cigarettes, but they were no more likely to give up smoking
entirely.
Overall, the authors of a recent
scientific review conclude, "studies that reflect real-world
e-cigarette use found that e-cigarette use is not associated with successful
quitting ... Taken together, the studies suggest that e-cigarettes are not
associated with successful quitting in general population-based samples of
smokers."
And there is even some evidence that e-cigs may get
non-smokers hooked on nicotine.
Studies have found as many as one-third of young e-cigarette
users have never tried conventional cigarettes.
Myth 4: E-cigs don't produce harmful second-hand smoke
A main selling point of e-cigs is that they can be used
anywhere, because they don't produce toxic smoke that puts others at risk.
But breathing in second-hand vapor, also known as
"passive vaping," may not be harmless.
In fact, experts say although the level of toxic chemicals
in second-hand vapor is smaller than that in second-hand smoke.
But experts say e-cig smoke contains a similar amount of
tiny particles of heavy metals and other substances that can damage the lungs.
The Food and Drug Administration has proposed a rule that
would permit the agency to regulate e-cigarettes and similar products.
If the proposal becomes final, the agency said, it will be
able to use regulatory tools, such as age restrictions and rigorous scientific
review of new tobacco products and claims to reduce tobacco-related disease and
death.
Anne Harding has written thousands of articles on health, medical
and scientific topics. Her work appears regularly on Reuters Health and
LiveScience, and she has written for More magazine, Health.com, CNN.com, and
several other print and online publications.
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