Could E-Cigarettes be Exposing Users to Toxic Chemicals?
E-cigarettes have been hailed as revolutionary devices from a public health perspective. They have helped many people to reduce or eliminate their tobacco usage, something which governments around the world have been battling hard to accomplish for many years. However, new research suggests that e-cigarettes could, in fact, expose users to other types of toxic chemicals.
Teen Users
Because e-cigarettes are perceived as being completely safe, society is much more complacent about their use. As a result, vaping has become popular amongst teens and, whereas adults wouldn’t think twice about confiscating tobacco products from teenage users, much less is done to discourage them from using e-cigarettes.
While measures to reduce tobacco use have been very successful in the developed world, in many parts of the world, the massive amounts of money the tobacco companies have at their disposal has allowed them to aggressively lobby against legislative change. E-cigarettes could, therefore, be game changers and they have a role to play in further reducing smoking rates in the developed world, while also being a powerful tool for nations who have thus far struggled with rates of tobacco usage.
E-cigarettes have the potential to provide a cheap and easily accessible alternative to smoking, but e-cigarettes have only been around for a short time, so we currently don’t have any data regarding any long-term health problems that might emerge from heavy or frequent use.
The Study
As reported by lighthousenewsdaily.com, a new study from the University of California suggests that users of e-cigarettes may, in fact, be exposing themselves to many of the same harmful chemicals as smokers of regular tobacco.
The researchers analyzed the saliva and urine of a group of teenagers. This group of 104 teenagers had an average age of 16; 67 of them used e-cigs exclusively and 17 used e-cigs as well as traditional tobacco cigarettes. The remainder formed the control group and didn’t smoke at all.
The Results
High levels of several chemicals, notably benzene, ethylene oxide, acrylonitrile, and acrylamide, were detected in the samples of the teenagers who smoked, regardless of the method. Surprisingly, the results were the same for both groups of smokers, regardless of their preferred method of smoking. According to the conventional wisdom, the group who only smoked e-cigarettes should have had significantly lower levels of all of these compounds.
All these compounds have been implicated in an increased rate of cancer and so individuals who might be exposed to them need to be made aware of that fact. The study also noted that the use of certain products was associated with higher levels of some compounds. Specifically, the use of fruit-flavored e-cigarette liquids was associated with higher levels of acrylonitrile compared to those who instead used menthol, candy, or tobacco flavors.
Because e-cigarettes are widely regarded as being safe, especially when compared to tobacco products, it is important that everyone understand the potential health implications. Even those who have no intention of vaping themselves might one day find themselves with children who begin vaping. In such a case, it would be important to know if these devices are harmful.
Because e-cigarettes are perceived as being completely safe, society is much more complacent about their use. As a result, vaping has become popular amongst teens and, whereas adults wouldn’t think twice about confiscating tobacco products from teenage users, much less is done to discourage them from using e-cigarettes.
While measures to reduce tobacco use have been very successful in the developed world, in many parts of the world, the massive amounts of money the tobacco companies have at their disposal has allowed them to aggressively lobby against legislative change. E-cigarettes could, therefore, be game changers and they have a role to play in further reducing smoking rates in the developed world, while also being a powerful tool for nations who have thus far struggled with rates of tobacco usage.
E-cigarettes have the potential to provide a cheap and easily accessible alternative to smoking, but e-cigarettes have only been around for a short time, so we currently don’t have any data regarding any long-term health problems that might emerge from heavy or frequent use.
The Study
As reported by lighthousenewsdaily.com, a new study from the University of California suggests that users of e-cigarettes may, in fact, be exposing themselves to many of the same harmful chemicals as smokers of regular tobacco.
The researchers analyzed the saliva and urine of a group of teenagers. This group of 104 teenagers had an average age of 16; 67 of them used e-cigs exclusively and 17 used e-cigs as well as traditional tobacco cigarettes. The remainder formed the control group and didn’t smoke at all.
The Results
High levels of several chemicals, notably benzene, ethylene oxide, acrylonitrile, and acrylamide, were detected in the samples of the teenagers who smoked, regardless of the method. Surprisingly, the results were the same for both groups of smokers, regardless of their preferred method of smoking. According to the conventional wisdom, the group who only smoked e-cigarettes should have had significantly lower levels of all of these compounds.
All these compounds have been implicated in an increased rate of cancer and so individuals who might be exposed to them need to be made aware of that fact. The study also noted that the use of certain products was associated with higher levels of some compounds. Specifically, the use of fruit-flavored e-cigarette liquids was associated with higher levels of acrylonitrile compared to those who instead used menthol, candy, or tobacco flavors.
Because e-cigarettes are widely regarded as being safe, especially when compared to tobacco products, it is important that everyone understand the potential health implications. Even those who have no intention of vaping themselves might one day find themselves with children who begin vaping. In such a case, it would be important to know if these devices are harmful.
