E-cig safety concerns

A safer alternative to tobacco, despite toxic chemicals in e-cig liquids

A recent study suggest that some e-cigarette liquids contain high levels of toxic metal, some of which could cause cancer.

Five brands of first generation e-cig liquids were analyzed by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All were found to contain cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese and nickel, metals which are toxic when inhaled.

However, traditional cigarettes are made up of approximately 600 ingredients that, when burned, create more than 7,000 chemicals. According to the American Lung Association, at least 69 of these chemicals are known carcinogens and many others are toxic.

The following are only some of the chemical ingredients in traditional cigarettes and other products in which they can be found:

Acetone: nail polish remover
Ammonia: household cleaners
Arsenic: rat poison
Butane: lighter fluid
Cadmium: battery acid
Formaldehyde: embalming fluid
Naphthalene: mothballs
Methanol: rocket fuel
Tar: road pavement

The liquid’s cartridge in first-generation e-cigarettes is stored next to the heating coil. A vapor is created when the liquid is heated, which the user inhales. The heating coil is considered by researchers to be the main source of the hazardous metals. They suggest that regulators might want to contemplate an alternative material for the e-cig heating coils.

I am not advocating vaping or the use of tobacco products. However, logic based solely on the quantity of chemicals added to e-cig and traditional cigarettes dictates that e-cigs are the safer alternative.