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> Given that there are numerous chemical additives in traditional chemical cigarettes that are known to cause health issues nicotine may not be the dominantly

> Given that there are numerous chemical additives in traditional chemical cigarettes that are known to cause health issues nicotine may not be the dominantly harmful component in cigarettes. Based on your above comment, it sounds like you think that they tested for nicotine specifically. They did not. From the press release: There are potentially hundreds of chemicals in e-cigarettes that could be contributing to DNA damage, Kadimisetty says. Rather than test for all of them, the UConn team targeted three known carcinogenic chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes. They then loaded their device’s microwells with specific enzymes that would convert those chemicals into metabolites. If these chemicals were in the sample, the test gave them a reading for genotoxicity. If the chemicals were not present, there would be no reaction. Based on that paragraph, and other sentences throughout the press release, my interpretation is that their findings are that e-cigarettes are potentially as harmful as cigarettes. Some of the comments in this thread make it sounds like the researchers showed that just the nicotine in e-cigarettes is as potentially harmful as just the nicotine in cigarettes, but that's not my reading.

droopyEyelids 9y ago
The 'potentially' is a HUGE asterisk here, though. E-cigarette liquid, at it's base, has two chemicals: propylene glycol and nicotine. Anything other than that is a flavor additive, or a smoke volume additive (glycerine). PG and Glycerine are extensively studied and safe for human consumption, PG is actually used in nebulizer treatments for people with asthma. Furthermore, a proper e-cigarette doesn't cause a chemical change in the liquid- it's only a physical state change. That precludes the oxidation reactions that characterize tobacco smoking. So my skepticism is really tweaked by this article. Yes, someone could potentially add hundreds of flavoring chemicals. Definitely room for a problem there, so address that. The essential cigarette is only two to three chemicals.
- tristanj 9y ago
  The makeup of e-cigarette vapor is different than the what's in the liquid. When vaping, the e-cigarette coil heats up to 300°C and breaks compounds in the liquid (such as propylene glycol) into new compounds such as propylene oxide, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde. Researchers found that aerosols generated by e-cigarettes contain up to 31 compounds, some of which are known carcinogens. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.6b01741 http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.6b01741
  - kostarelo 9y ago
    Wow, didn't know that. So, when the article says that "There are potentially hundreds of chemicals in e-cigarettes..." they are actually referring to compounds that are being generated after vaping?
    - tristanj 9y ago
      I believe so, but he could also be referring to how there are hundreds of different flavors (each containing different compounds), and each compound interacts differently when heated by coils.
  - bryondowd 9y ago
    My understanding is that this is a bit of a false alarm, because most devices target 150C, which is just enough to vaporize the PG, but not oxidize it, not 300C where things get ugly. So, with reasonable safety measures in place, this shouldn't be an issue.
    - tristanj 9y ago
      The study I citied measured compounds produced by on-the-market e-cigarettes, specifically the EGO CE4 and Kanger Aerotank Mini. While I'm not sure what temperature these devices target, what I know is that the researchers found that longer into a usage session the coils became hotter and produced larger quantities carcinogens. My understanding though is that while e-cigarettes do produce carcinogens, they produce less quantities than regular cigarettes do.
      - throw_away 9y ago
        Reading a lot of these studies, I get the feel that the researchers aren't really users of the devices, nor have they really consulted any real users of the devices. It's akin to someone who had never seen how a car works being surprised that they are capable of going over 100 MPH. Sure, they can, but usually people don't drive them around that fast. The same goes for e-cigarettes. Sure, if you max out the voltage, keep the coil red hot and dry out the wick you're going to get some bad stuff, but no real user would inhale much of this (at least not more than once) because it would taste terrible.
- scott_s 9y ago
  It's "potentially" because a study in the lab cannot demonstrate health outcomes. (Which, of course, requires people to be involved.) It's also wise to attach it to single studies: we don't tend to change views based on single studies, but on large amounts of studies that corroborate each other. So, yes, I agree: this warrants much further study. I have not come to any conclusions, but I have updated my priros. But, independent of that, I felt some comments in this thread were misrepresenting what the research did.
- collyw 9y ago
  The flavors must make some sort of difference. I have an e-cig. Not a huge user, but I notice that the resistors clog up a lot faster with the darker juices and last a lot longer with the clear ones. I am mildly concerned about the effects that they might have on health - because when I got it I had read stuff similar to your "two to three chemicals" line also saying that its essentially the same as an asthma inhaler, when the reality is somewhat different.

droopyEyelids 9y ago

The 'potentially' is a HUGE asterisk here, though. E-cigarette liquid, at it's base, has two chemicals: propylene glycol and nicotine. Anything other than that is a flavor additive, or a smoke volume additive (glycerine). PG and Glycerine are extensively studied and safe for human consumption, PG is actually used in nebulizer treatments for people with asthma. Furthermore, a proper e-cigarette doesn't cause a chemical change in the liquid- it's only a physical state change. That precludes the oxidation reactions that characterize tobacco smoking. So my skepticism is really tweaked by this article. Yes, someone could potentially add hundreds of flavoring chemicals. Definitely room for a problem there, so address that. The essential cigarette is only two to three chemicals.

tristanj 9y ago
The makeup of e-cigarette vapor is different than the what's in the liquid. When vaping, the e-cigarette coil heats up to 300°C and breaks compounds in the liquid (such as propylene glycol) into new compounds such as propylene oxide, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde. Researchers found that aerosols generated by e-cigarettes contain up to 31 compounds, some of which are known carcinogens. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.6b01741 http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.6b01741
- kostarelo 9y ago
  Wow, didn't know that. So, when the article says that "There are potentially hundreds of chemicals in e-cigarettes..." they are actually referring to compounds that are being generated after vaping?
  - tristanj 9y ago
    I believe so, but he could also be referring to how there are hundreds of different flavors (each containing different compounds), and each compound interacts differently when heated by coils.
- bryondowd 9y ago
  My understanding is that this is a bit of a false alarm, because most devices target 150C, which is just enough to vaporize the PG, but not oxidize it, not 300C where things get ugly. So, with reasonable safety measures in place, this shouldn't be an issue.
  - tristanj 9y ago
    The study I citied measured compounds produced by on-the-market e-cigarettes, specifically the EGO CE4 and Kanger Aerotank Mini. While I'm not sure what temperature these devices target, what I know is that the researchers found that longer into a usage session the coils became hotter and produced larger quantities carcinogens. My understanding though is that while e-cigarettes do produce carcinogens, they produce less quantities than regular cigarettes do.
    - throw_away 9y ago
      Reading a lot of these studies, I get the feel that the researchers aren't really users of the devices, nor have they really consulted any real users of the devices. It's akin to someone who had never seen how a car works being surprised that they are capable of going over 100 MPH. Sure, they can, but usually people don't drive them around that fast. The same goes for e-cigarettes. Sure, if you max out the voltage, keep the coil red hot and dry out the wick you're going to get some bad stuff, but no real user would inhale much of this (at least not more than once) because it would taste terrible.
scott_s 9y ago
It's "potentially" because a study in the lab cannot demonstrate health outcomes. (Which, of course, requires people to be involved.) It's also wise to attach it to single studies: we don't tend to change views based on single studies, but on large amounts of studies that corroborate each other. So, yes, I agree: this warrants much further study. I have not come to any conclusions, but I have updated my priros. But, independent of that, I felt some comments in this thread were misrepresenting what the research did.
collyw 9y ago
The flavors must make some sort of difference. I have an e-cig. Not a huge user, but I notice that the resistors clog up a lot faster with the darker juices and last a lot longer with the clear ones. I am mildly concerned about the effects that they might have on health - because when I got it I had read stuff similar to your "two to three chemicals" line also saying that its essentially the same as an asthma inhaler, when the reality is somewhat different.