Many claim that e-cigarettes may help cigarette smokers cut back on smoking or quit altogether. However, more and more studies suggest that e-cigarettes are not as safe as manufacturers claim.
E-cigarettes are devices that use heat to vaporize a liquid containing nicotine, creating a thick plume of “vapor” when exhaled. According to a recent study, sweeteners added to e-cigarette liquids may release toxins in levels as high as traditional cigarettes.
E-cigarette liquids can contain ingredients such as sugar, caramel and honey, per the researchers in Tobacco Control, a BMJ journal. Breaking down these types of sweeteners using heat can produce 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural (FA), two toxic substances known as furans.
The substances have been linked to an increased risk of developing respiratory tract damage in humans. When e-cigarette plumes were lab-tested for the study, furans were detected at levels that were similar to traditional cigarettes, if not higher.
Prior to vaping, the furans were undetectable in the liquids. But when the liquid was heated and vaporized, furans were found. Higher HMF levels were found with lower battery power, but higher FA levels were found with higher battery power. Fumes from the unflavored variety liquids containing sucrose and glucose actually produced higher concentrations of furans than the flavored variety.
“Our group has previously shown that flavourings used in e-cigarettes, may induce inhalation toxicity,” said Maciej Goniewicz, a researcher at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y., by email. Goniewicz was not directly involved with this current study.
E-cigarettes have also been found to contain toxic substances such as diacetyl and formaldehyde. Diacetyl is a flavoring agent used to impart the creamy taste of butter, but has been linked to serious lung disease such as bronchiolitis obliterans, or “popcorn lung.” Bronchiolitis obliterans is untreatable, and is only cured by lung transplant.
Source: Eyewitness News