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E-cigarette vapor contains potentially harmful particles

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http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20140507/e-cigarette-vapor-contains-potentially-harmful-particles-review

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 7, 2014 (HealthDay News) --

E-cigarettes may not be as harmless as they initially seemed. New research suggests that e-cigarette vapor produces tiny particles that users suck deep into their lungs, potentially causing or worsening respiratory diseases.

The particles are of comparable size to those contained in cigarette smoke, and as many as 40 percent of them reach the deepest part of the lungs when inhaled, said Jonathan Thornburg, lead investigator and a senior research engineer at RTI International, a North Carolina research institute.

That means if the particles turn out to be harmful, they'll be causing damage throughout the lungs.

"These small particles have a high surface area-to-volume ratio," Thornburg said. "When they deposit in your lungs, it makes it easy for whatever chemicals are in them to dissolve into your lung tissue." Those chemicals potentially could cause or worsen respiratory problems such as asthma or bronchitis.

In its review of emissions from two types of e-cigarettes, Thornburg's team did not find any toxic substances in the vapor produced by the devices.

"Everything we found was what the [u.S. Food and Drug Administration] and others generally regard as safe," he said, noting that the cancer-causing agents produced by burning tobacco are not present in e-cigarettes.

But another new study raises the possibility that the liquids used to produce e-cigarette vapors could contain carcinogens or harmful ingredients, The New York Times reports.

The study found formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, in overheated vapor produced by high-power e-cigarette devices known as tank systems, the newspaper reported. These systems are larger devices than typical e-cigarettes, and are designed to vaporize liquid nicotine quickly to give users a bigger nicotine kick.

These studies provide even more impetus for the FDA's recent proposal to begin regulating e-cigarettes as tobacco products, said Dr. Norman Edelman, senior medical advisor for the American Lung Association.

"We certainly don't believe e-cigarettes are a safe alternative," Edelman said. "The question is whether it's a safer alternative, and we believe those results aren't in yet. This is a tobacco product and should be regulated by the FDA as all tobacco products should."

Thornburg and his colleagues tested the vapor from e-cigarettes using a new smoking machine built to replicate the physical experience of a 14-year-old boy using one of the devices.

They first tested an e-cigarette liquid designed to create a tobacco flavor. That liquid produced particles about 184 nanometers in size. A second liquid -- this one with a fruit punch flavor -- produced particles about 270 nanometers in size. Those are within the same range as the particles in cigarette smoke, according to Thornburg.

The researchers also found that 47 percent of the inhaled emissions deposited in the lungs, with nearly all of these particles reaching the deepest part of the lungs.

The remaining 53 percent of the emissions, when exhaled, create a potential source of secondhand exposure to people nearby, the study authors said.

The main ingredients found in the e-cigarette liquids are glycerin and glycol ethers, which are used as the liquid carrier into which all of the nicotine, flavorings and preservatives easily dissolve, Thornburg said. Those substances are not considered harmful.

Other ingredients included nicotine, the preservatives BHA and BHT, and chemicals that create the taste of caramelized sugar and the scent of citrus.

"It's unknown whether these chemicals are harmful if you inhale them," Thornburg said. "A lot of the chemicals are considered safe, but that's from an ingestion perspective, not inhalation," he noted.

According to Thomas Kiklas, CFO of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, "All constituents [of e-cigarettes] have been in the U.S. food supply for generations and all are approved by the EPA/FDA for human inhalation and use dermally."

Kiklas contends, "The e-cig has and is being used by millions of Americans. There have been billions and billions of uses without a single incidence of harm."

Thornburg said nicotine researchers need to come together and agree on a set of standards for researching e-cigarettes, given that there are so many different liquids and devices available.

"Each combination could create a unique exposure that could impact the user as well as bystanders," he said. "With so many different potential combinations, we really need standardized methods for conducting the research with the devices we use and some liquids we use, so all of the research will be comparable."

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I just switched to one of these from the darts and I gotta admit I still flem up just as often and cough as I use it :-/

It can takes months to stop producing lung residue after quitting analog cigarettes. I know because I quit smoking and two-three months later I was still coughing up nasty crap.

I'd be very wary of the motives of any "research" into e-cigs. Governments around the world are collectively shitting their pants about the whole idea of e-cigs as they can clearly see that every smoker converted to a vaper is revenue lost. If the government *actually* gave a flying fuck about the welfare and health of the population (oh and somebody think of the poor children) they would have banned cigarettes and alcohol long ago.

The fact remains that the two main ingredients in e-juice; propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin are widely used in processed food and cosmetics as well as medical inhalers/vaporisers. It seems a bit odd that they are fine for that purpose but maybe not so in e-cigs. The issue of flavourings is imo the biggest cause for concern as it is definitely an unknown. Some flavourings will no doubt turn out to be completely safe, my guess is that some might eventually cause serious health problems (who in the hell would want to vape bacon flavour?). I started using e-cigs (some time after quitting smoking mind you) and am increasingly seeking out organic and naturally derived flavours in the hope that they have less potential health risks.

The issue of the inhalation of fine particles remains to be seen but I'd rather be inhaling VG and PG particles than the absolutely filthy crap that comes out of cigarettes. Having gone from not smoking to vaping I can honestly say that my chest doesn't feel any worse the wear for doing so. I'm not advocating that vaping is harmless (nothing is), but it certainly hasn't affected my lung capacity/health in any noticeable way. Vaping is almost certainly an order of magnitude or three better for your health than smoking.

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Totally know what you mean and I agree. Vaping to me still has a throat load and makes me cough in it's own distinct way. I'm using a mix ATM but will go for the one with less throat load next time

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news flash, the air you breath contains potentially harmful particles... just saying.

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HI all I haven't been around much lately but I will be back more regularly soon I hope. :)

One of the reasons I haven't been here is Mrs Got and I made a pact in January this year to give up smoking for good. So on Mrs Got's birthday we tried to stop smoking but we only manged to get down to about five a day over a few days and realizing this wasn't going to work (we had tried this way before and just kept smoking) we stopped totally. By lunchtime we were not happy campers and things just got worse as the day went on to the point that I started wondering if ether of us would survive the day without one of us being stabbed with a sharp object. We work together so there was no getting away from each other so we new we had to do something if we were going to see this through.

We had bought a couple of disposable no nicotine e-cigs and even though they gave us some help with the habit it wasn't enough and so I went in search for the fastest way I could get my hands on some e-cigs with nicotine. There was nowhere in WA but I found a online store which had what we wanted and so I bought them and had them express posted.

They arrived before lunch the next day we chucked them on charge for and hour or so ( that's all we could wait for) and had our first puff on them. After a few tokes we both looked at each other in disbelief. These things actually worked we could not believe how much different we felt literally within 10 minutes we actually felt normal.

From that day nether of us have touched another cigarette and we both are just not interested in smoking any more. I had smoked for over 35 years and Mrs Got had been at it for around 30 years and we had tried most quit smoking aids and any success always ended in going back to smoking.

I know this reads like a sales pitch and in some ways it is as I am a true believer that E-cigs or what I am using now is commonly known as a personal vaporizer are the best way by far to give up a habit that was slowly killing us.

All of the negative reports that keep on being published by all sorts of headline chasing people don't bother me at all as I have read many positive reports, spoken online and in person to Vapers and read personal reports by so many Vapers that all feel the same as me that they work and there is no proven evidence that they are harmful if used correctly.

If they did find that there could be some issues we would more than likely ween ourselves of them quicker than we have planed but they are always going to be better for us than smoking.

If any one wants more info on E-cigs/ Vaping I can post links and make suggestions on where and what to buy and I am happy to give any advise that I can.

Cheers

Got

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it fits because it shows how pointless a report is which can almost be summed up by the title of the thread.

lastnight i went pretty hard on my badass new ecig, with a flavour which i don't think is the best, it's even a little bit prone to burning. i woke up with the feeling in my chest of VERY MINOR dust inhalation. the feeling is gone already. of course ecigs aren't 100% harmless, practically nothing is, and i'm thankful for any information that helps us educate ourselves about the potential harms of various activities and whether there are ways to reduce those harms. however, i think xeno is right about some of these articles starting to appear. they seem to be painting a target on ecigs and not really giving them the praise they deserve. there does seem to be an agenda.

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Just before New Years I bought a pretty decent E-cig. I didn't smoke a normal ciggie for 3 months until I lost my e-cig. Now I'm back on the normal ciggies.

I can't say i felt any better using e ciggies. Breathing in a vapour of any kind can't be good for your lungs but I hope that it is slightly better for me than all the toxic chemicals found in normal ciggies. Either way its not good for the lungs.

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I gave them a go for a while (with nicotine). While i didnt manage to quit i did cut down ALOT and my lungs felt heaps better.

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How about vapourising tobacco in a herb vapouriser like an iolite or volcano? When I have tried this in the past it has tasted like shit though. Maybe there is a way to prepare it that is better? The curing process for smoking might not be suited to vaping.

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^ there's a notion, although i'd guess most liquids would be safer than vaped 'baccy

OPP, when you smoke a cigarette you don't just cop the chemicals found in the cigarette, the burning also produces additional nasties, not to mention filling your lungs with tar. i think it's no exaggeration to say that e-cigarette vapour, or tobacco vapour for that matter, isn't "slightly better" for you, it is better by miles and miles, and by mixing more nicotine into the liquid or foregoing the flavours you can basically get stronger puffs with less um, lets say tangential vapours.

must mention that of course, as with any form of recreational vapourising, it isn't hard to go beyond vapourising and begin burning your product and that's when you start forming new compounds which tend to be bad not to mention tasting bad.

G.O.T.'s links are pretty reassuring about e-cigs.

your choice of implement matters too, as with any vapourising. some are underpowered, unreliable, prone to burning or rely on a wick which can easily start burning.

same as GOT, if anybody wants to hear about my weapon of choice drop a PM.

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Stopping coughing almost instantly when I switched from rollies to vaping.

Lungs really feel alot clearer, I vape alot too, 18mg nicotine.

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On a slightly off topic but nicotine related.

I was a pretty heavy smoker a few years ago & must admit I love the effects of nicotine.

Such an insidious substance....

I even partook in patch clinical trials. lasted very briefly....I got paid for it though so that was worth it....

So i tried nicotine gum

But.......

Although Im now addicted to nicotine gum.

although I do have the occasional rollie thing....But dont feel like I need to smoke anything regularly...

got to say in gums benefit - its heaps cheaper, my wife might kiss me once in a while! as i dont smell like an ashtray, I can chew it wherever, Still get the nicotine effects, & its minty. Dont have fingers that are kinda yellow, My teeth are cleaner etc etc ...& the major one my lungs are heaps cleaner!! Feel heaps better for it

Must say its a way better health option if ya still love nicotine....

Non benefits - Im still addicted to nicotine.... Not sure how ill get rid of that one though.

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How do the rest of you nicotine fiends go with high blood pressure?

when you're tounging for a vapour, gum, or whatever, does blood pressure or any non-cigarette health concern affect your decision?

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