AreElectronicCigarettesSafe?

ByKristinNollMarsh,CASAA
Recently,therehasbeenmediacoverageaboutthesafetyofelectroniccigarettes,whichmaybeconfusingandabit
scary.
Electroniccigarettesareintendedtobealesstoxic(orsafer)alternativetosmokingtobaccocigarettes,butnotasa
treatmentfornicotineaddiction.ChinesepharmacistHonLikinventedanecigarettein2003withapatentedultrasonic
technology.HonLikwasahighlymotivatedinventor,giventhathisfatherwasdyingfromlungcanceratthetime.Since
then,mostChineseecigarettemakershavereplacedtheultrasonictechnologywithaheatingelementthatvaporizes
thenicotinesolutionintheecigarettemouthpiecesoitcanbeinhaled.
Read more: http://emerging-business-markets.suite101.com/article.cfm/sources_for_imported_ecigarettes#ixzz0TNTSptUJ

Nicotine
Itswelldocumentedthatcurrentlyavailabletreatmentsforsmokers,nicotinereplacementtherapiessuchaspatches
andgums,arelargelyineffective,withjusta7%successrateafter12months.Thisislargelyduetothefactthatmost
smokersarentjustaddictedtothenicotine;theyareaddictedtotheactualhabitandritualofsmokingacigarette.Itisa
comfortsystemforthemthatcanbeevenstrongerthannicotineaddiction.
However,thegreatestdangerincigarettesmokingisnotthenicotine.Nicotine,whilehighlyaddictive,isastimulant
similartocaffeineandnottoxicinlow,intermittentdoses,whichiswhyitcanbeusedinnicotinereplacement
therapies.NicotinedoesNOTcausecancer,butisknowntohavesomesideeffects.Cigarettesmoke,ontheotherhand,
containsmorethanjustnicotine.Itcontainshundredsoftoxicchemicalsanddozensofknowncarcinogens.
HonLikseemstohavebelievedthattherecouldbeanoptionforsmokers,tostillhavetheactofsmoking,whilelimiting
exposuretothechemicals,toxinsandcarcinogensfoundintobaccosmoke.Hehadtohaveknownthatthesmoker
wouldstillneedrelieffromthenicotineaddiction,sotogetthemtoswitchtothelesstoxicelectroniccigarettes;hehad
toincludedosesofnicotine.Thetypicalelectroniccigaretteliquidcontainswater,propyleneglycol,glycerin,nicotine&
foodgradeflavoring.
Readmore:http://www.drugs.com/sfx/nicotinesideeffects.html
Diethyleneglycol
YoumayhaveheardthattheFDAfoundtraces(1%)ofdiethyleneglycolinoneSmokingEverywherebrandprefilled
cartridge.Diethyleneglycolisahighlytoxicsubstanceusedintobaccoprocessing(andinantifreeze),butitisNOTused
tomanufactureelectroniccigaretteliquid.Becauseitusedintobaccoprocessing,cheaper,lessrefinednicotinemay
becomecontaminatedwithtracesofdiethyleneglycol.Itcanalsobeabyproductofthemanufactureoflowgrade
propyleneglycol.Itisthemostlikelyexplanationofhowonecartridgemayhavebeencontaminated.Theother17
cartridgesandotherbrandstestedbyindependentlabswerenotfoundtohavebeencontaminatedwithdiethylene

glycol.ManyliquidmanufacturersuseUSPgradenicotine(thesameasusedinFDAapprovednicotinepatchesand
gums)andUSPpropyleneglycolandshouldnotcontainanydiethyleneglycol.
Readmore:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diethylene_glycol
PropyleneGlycol
Propyleneglycoliscommonlyconfusedinthemedia(andbywellmeaningenthusiasts)withdiethyleneglycolasthe
toxicingredientfoundinantifreeze.(Antifreezeisactuallymostcommonlymadewithethyleneglycol.)While
propyleneglycolcanbefoundinsomeantifreeze,itisactuallyaddedtoittomakeitLESStoxic.
Antifreeze typically contains ethylene glycol as its active ingredient, but some manufacturers market propylene
glycol-based antifreeze, which is less toxic to humans and pets. The acute, or short-term, toxicity of propylene glycol,
especially in humans, is substantially lower than that of ethylene glycol. Regardless of which active ingredient the
spent antifreeze contains, heavy metals contaminate the antifreeze during service. When contaminated, particularly
with lead, used antifreeze can be considered hazardous and should be reused, recycled, or disposed of properly.
Read more: http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/antifree.htm
Propylene glycol is actually approved for human consumption by the FDA and approved for human inhalation by the
EPA. It is a common ingredient in many foods and medicines, such as McCormick (and other brand) imitation food
flavoring, toothpaste, cough syrup, hand sanitizer, lotions, cosmetics and more.
Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene_glycol

TobaccospecificNitrosamines
TheFDAanalysisfoundtobaccospecificnitrosaminesinsomeofthesamplestested.Thesenitrosaminesarecreated
duringthecuringandprocessingoftobaccoandwouldbeexpectedtobefound,intraceamounts,innicotineextracted
fromprocessedtobacco.Intobaccosmoke,theyarefoundinhighconcentrationandarealeadingcauseoftobacco
relatedcancers.Thesecarcinogenswerefoundinjusttraceamountsintheelectroniccigaretteliquidandarefoundin
otherlowrisksmokelesstobaccoandnicotineproducts,includingchew,snuf,patches,gumandinhalers.Astudyat
Oxfordconcludedthatthehighestlevelsofthesenitrosaminesarefoundinthereactionoftobaccosmokeandminimal
inNRTs.LevelsofnitrosaminesfoundinelectroniccigarettesareatorbelowthosefoundinNRTs.
Readmore:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobaccospecific_nitrosamines
http://www.ecassoc.org/downloads/ResponsetotheFDASummary.pdf
http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/18/3/587.pdf

FoodFlavorings
Artificialfoodflavoringsareoftencalledthegreatunknownwhenitcomestoelectroniccigarettes.Whileallflavorings
areFDAapprovedforhumanconsumption,verylittleisknownabouttheshortorlongtermhealtheffectsofthe
inhalationoftheingredientsinartificialflavors.
Onethingtoknowisthattheartificialflavordropsusedinelectroniccigaretteliquidsarehighlyconcentrated,sovery
littleisneededtoaddsufficientflavor.Mostoftheflavorsarealreadymixedinapropyleneglycolbaseandmakeup
between10%to25%ofthetotalelectroniccigaretteliquid.Whatisinhaledintothelungscouldbereducedfurther
whenvaporizedandmixedwithair.
Oneknownflavoringagentdiacetylhasbeenshowntobelinkedtobronchiolitisobliterans,aconditionalsoknown
aspopcornlung.Diacetylisusedinsomeartificialbutterflavors.Severalworkersatmicrowavepopcornfactories,who
hadlongtermexposuretohighconcentrationsofdiacetyl,reportedahigherincidenceofasthmaorbronchiolitis
obliterans.Itisnotknownifthemuchlowerlevelsofdiacetylthatmightbefoundinsomeelectroniccigaretteliquid
flavorsposeasimilarhealthrisk,butsomeelectroniccigaretteuserschoosetoerronthesideofcautionandavoid
flavorswhichcontaindiacetyl.
Otherthandiacetyl,nootherartificialflavoringshavebeenwidelyreportedtobelinkedtorespiratoryillnessordisease
infactoryworkersorconsumers.
Readmore:http://www.osha.gov/dsg/guidance/diacetylguidance.html
Nowyouhavethefacts.Youshoulddecideforyourselfifyouconsiderelectroniccigarettessafe(oratleastsaferthan
tobaccocigarettes)forYOU.