6 ms·

... what makes you think e-cigarettes are harmless?

TeMPOraL 8y ago
They don't contain any of the substances that are harmful in analog cigarettes. They're essentially nicotine + stage smoke.
- loco5niner 8y ago
  Whether nicotine is harmful seems to be under debate: https://tobacco.ucsf.edu/cdc-publishes-more-evidence-nicotine-dangerous-all-itself https://tobacco.ucsf.edu/cdc-publishes-more-evidence-nicotin... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/
  - ChoGGi 8y ago
    Your second link mentions LD50 in adults of around 30-60 mg of nicotine. In children the LD50 is around 10 mg. Seems harmful enough to me.
    - nofurtheruse 8y ago
      even advil has an LD50. dosage matters
      - TeMPOraL 8y ago
        Even water has LD50.
        anticensor 8y ago
        12L/day.
  - cobbzilla 8y ago
    also a good & nuanced read: https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine
- notacoward 8y ago
  They don't have the same harmful chemicals as "analog" cigarettes, but the combustion by-products are still not something a rational person would want in their lungs.
  - elipsey 8y ago
    I wouldn't argue that they're harmless but my understanding is that combustion is not involved, and that is exactly why they are presumed to be _less_ harmful than smoking.
    - dmm 8y ago
      Cigarettes kill 50% of long term users. Being safer than that is not a big accomplishment.
      - elipsey 8y ago
        I agree completely. I don't mean to suggests that vaping is a good idea, only that it apparently doesn't have PICs in it.
      - TeMPOraL 8y ago
        Being safer in general isn't. Being safer while also being a psychologically acceptable substitute for smokers - this is the achievement.
    - ChristianBundy 8y ago
      This is correct. The mixture is almost always propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine, and flavoring. I don't know of any negative effects of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, and as long as you don't use a carcinogenic flavoring (they exist) your biggest problem will likely be nicotine. I don't think nicotine is good for you, but vaporized nicotine seems much less dangerous than smoking a cigarette.
      - tialaramex 8y ago
        Even glycol and glycerin vapor are probably not a good idea to inhale. They could hardly be as bad as smoking cigarettes, but so far basically anything you breathe in that isn't air turns out to be a bad idea once we study it thoroughly.

They don't contain any of the substances that are harmful in analog cigarettes. They're essentially nicotine + stage smoke.

loco5niner 8y ago
Whether nicotine is harmful seems to be under debate: https://tobacco.ucsf.edu/cdc-publishes-more-evidence-nicotine-dangerous-all-itself https://tobacco.ucsf.edu/cdc-publishes-more-evidence-nicotin... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/
- ChoGGi 8y ago
  Your second link mentions LD50 in adults of around 30-60 mg of nicotine. In children the LD50 is around 10 mg. Seems harmful enough to me.
  - nofurtheruse 8y ago
    even advil has an LD50. dosage matters
    - TeMPOraL 8y ago
      Even water has LD50.
      - anticensor 8y ago
        12L/day.
- cobbzilla 8y ago
  also a good & nuanced read: https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine
notacoward 8y ago
They don't have the same harmful chemicals as "analog" cigarettes, but the combustion by-products are still not something a rational person would want in their lungs.
- elipsey 8y ago
  I wouldn't argue that they're harmless but my understanding is that combustion is not involved, and that is exactly why they are presumed to be _less_ harmful than smoking.
  - dmm 8y ago
    Cigarettes kill 50% of long term users. Being safer than that is not a big accomplishment.
    - elipsey 8y ago
      I agree completely. I don't mean to suggests that vaping is a good idea, only that it apparently doesn't have PICs in it.
    - TeMPOraL 8y ago
      Being safer in general isn't. Being safer while also being a psychologically acceptable substitute for smokers - this is the achievement.
  - ChristianBundy 8y ago
    This is correct. The mixture is almost always propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine, and flavoring. I don't know of any negative effects of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, and as long as you don't use a carcinogenic flavoring (they exist) your biggest problem will likely be nicotine. I don't think nicotine is good for you, but vaporized nicotine seems much less dangerous than smoking a cigarette.
    - tialaramex 8y ago
      Even glycol and glycerin vapor are probably not a good idea to inhale. They could hardly be as bad as smoking cigarettes, but so far basically anything you breathe in that isn't air turns out to be a bad idea once we study it thoroughly.