Scientists and medical professionals are now wondering whether e-cigarettes are harmful. Due to the short life of these devices, they have not been sufficiently studied. At the same time, more and more people from European countries are choosing vaping as an alternative to smoking. Medical companies and tobacco manufacturers have teamed up to do an honest study on the pros and cons of e-cigarettes.
Everyone who is interested in this issue wanted to express their opinion after trying electronic cigarettes. Many of them managed to get rid of tobacco addiction. It’s much easier to do this with a vape, because the mechanism is similar to smoking, and this removes the psychological barrier.
Various studies are being conducted in different countries on the benefits of e-cigarettes. The main study: affordable prices for drips do not harm anyone
Composition of liquid for electronic cigarettes
The electronic cigarette was invented at the beginning of this century in Hong Kong. In about ten years, this newfangled invention has become incredibly popular among smokers. Many of them are not even interested in whether electronic cigarettes are harmful to health. Therefore, their market in the US and EU is showing enviable growth, despite the fact that tobacco sales in the same region of the world are constantly declining. Russia is no exception, especially after recent restrictions on smoking and increased prices for tobacco products.
But where is the harm? After all, combustion does not occur when smoking - the device soars and does not smoke. Let's take a closer look at what the smoking liquid consists of. It includes:
- nicotine;
- propylene glycol;
- glycerol;
- aromatic additives;
- water.
In this case, propylene glycol and glycerin are used to dissolve flavors and create steam that simulates smoke.
Beware of low-quality electronic devices!
Low-quality devices can negatively affect the health of a vaper. Unfortunately, today these products do not undergo mandatory certification, and quality standards are not clearly formulated. Therefore, an unscrupulous manufacturer may change the chemical composition of the liquid or make the structure itself from low-grade materials. You should not save on your health and buy the cheapest device from an unknown manufacturer. Pay attention to brands that have already proven themselves in the market, study reviews (especially negative ones), and consult with experts.
At-risk groups
The dangers of electronic cigarettes are also relevant for minors, and even schoolchildren can be attracted by pleasant aromatic additives. An attractive picture, the absence of harm and addiction, pleasant aromatic additives are an advertising tool that attracts gullible teenagers. Even a schoolchild who has never tried smoking begins to become interested in an electronic device, which can later switch to smoking real tobacco. This is another danger of electronic cigarettes.
It is not recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding women to use e-cigarettes. Nicotine and other components can negatively affect the development of the fetus and provoke the development of pathologies or miscarriage. The effects of nicotine-free liquid on the fetus have not been fully studied, so you should not put yourself and your child at risk.
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What is more harmful: a regular cigarette or an electronic one?
Many smokers are interested in what is more harmful - an electronic cigarette or a regular one.
What is the harm of a regular cigarette? In addition to nicotine, it also contains tars formed as a result of the combustion of tobacco and paper. The resulting resins include:
- aromatic hydrocarbons, the most toxic of which is benzopyrene;
- nitrosamines;
- aromatic amines;
- pyrene;
- complex phenols;
- naphthols;
- mothballs;
- polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
This is not a complete list of toxic chemical compounds that cause cancer. In addition, tobacco smoke contains:
- carbon monoxide;
- cyanogen;
- ammonium;
- isoprenes;
- acetaldehyde;
- acetone;
- nitrosodimethylamine and so on.
The presence of the radioactive element polonium in tobacco smoke has also been proven.
All these elements, of course, are not present in e-liquid and inhaled vapor. There is much less harm from the composition of e-liquid.
However, although there is much less harm from electronic cigarettes, they are also unsafe. Why this is so, we will talk below, we will see all the components entering the smoker’s body along with the steam.
The harm of nicotine in electronic cigarettes
Both regular and electronic cigarettes contain nicotine, a narcotic substance with a strong neurotropic effect. Nicotine is extremely dangerous for humans - it is a poison for blood vessels and the heart.
In addition, as mentioned above, nicotine is a drug and, with repeated use, causes physical and psychological dependence. Therefore, the advisability of using it in a device that is supposedly created to quit smoking is very doubtful.
The amount of nicotine in certain “strong” varieties of liquids for smoking can reach 25 mg per milliliter. Excessive or improper use of such cigarettes can result in nicotine poisoning. Let us also recall that the lethal dose of nicotine for humans is about 100 mg.
Long-term use of nicotine can cause:
- hyperglycemia (increased blood serum glucose);
- arterial hypertension;
- atherosclerosis;
- tachycardia;
- arrhythmia;
- angina pectoris;
- coronary heart disease;
- heart failure;
- myocardial infarction.
In addition to the fact that nicotine poisons the cardiovascular system, aromatic additives contained in smoking liquid raise many questions. They differ from one manufacturer to another, and the lack of regulation and supervision standards for such products suggests the possible presence of carcinogens in their composition.
Is glycerin in electronic cigarettes harmful?
glycerol
Consumers are thinking about the dangers of glycerin in electronic cigarettes. It is a trihydric alcohol and tastes sweet. The substance is used in the food industry; in particular, it is added to some food products to increase their viscosity.
Glycerin itself has low toxicity. It is also not hazardous if the vapor is inhaled. However, in some cases, glycerin vapor can irritate the upper respiratory tract and cause allergies. In principle, this substance in the quantities used in this type of smoking is unlikely to cause any harm to a person.
Is propylene glycol in electronic cigarettes harmful?
The issue of the harm of propylene glycol in electronic cigarettes is also of interest to consumers of this innovative method of smoking. This substance is a colorless, viscous liquid with almost no odor. It is a good solvent, and therefore is used in the production of medicines, as well as in the food industry. The addition of propylene glycol to food products as a stabilizer proves that it does not cause harm to humans if not abused.
Propylene glycol is used in e-cigarettes to dissolve flavorings and irritate the upper respiratory tract. At high doses, propylene glycol depresses the central nervous system and can cause kidney damage.
Great Britain
Doctors in this country unanimously claim that smoking addiction is difficult to overcome with willpower alone. One of the representatives of the medical community explained why it is much easier to do this using vaping. Chris Steele believes that the most productive way to quit smoking is to carry an e-cigarette everywhere.
Doctors say that the electronic cigarette minimizes the intake of harmful substances into the body, but helps to cope with psychological addiction. This is a worthy analogue to a cigarette that helps you quit tobacco.
Is e-cigarette harmful to others?
Passive smoking is harmful to others
There is a worldwide practice of banning the use of electronic cigarettes in public places. So, does the vapor from an e-cigarette harm others?
This steam does not contain carcinogenic substances, carbon monoxide. However, it does contain nicotine. And it is not at all different from what is contained in traditional tobacco products.
If you smoke indoors, the air becomes saturated with nicotine. When other people are in such a room, they are forced to breathe this drug. And even if its concentration in the air is not very high, it still manages to have an effect on the people who inhale it. After all, there is no safe amount of nicotine for humans. The harm from nicotine from electronic cigarettes is the same as from regular cigarettes.
Russia
Pulmonologists say that the electronic cigarette is an excellent assistant in the fight against smoking. First of all, because it removes psychological barriers. When a person smokes, he develops various patterns and habits of behavior.
With an electronic cigarette you can feel everything the same as with a regular cigarette, but without the harm:
- there is an object in the hand;
- the lungs also fill when air is drawn in;
- there is a cloud that looks like smoke;
- there is something in the mouth that resembles a cigarette.
At first, you can use nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes. This will saturate the body with the usual substance. Due to the fact that the level of nicotine can be adjusted independently, you can gradually give up nicotine altogether. However, it is important to remember that an electronic cigarette is also safe because its use does not burn carcinogenic substances and does not poison the body. Another advantage is that vaping is absolutely safe and even pleasant for others.
Is e-cigarette harmful for pregnant women?
Some women, having learned about their pregnancy, cannot (or do not want) to stop smoking. And in the electronic cigarette they find, in their opinion, a safer way to “deliver” nicotine into the blood.
However, e-cigarettes are not that safe for pregnant women. Let us note that nicotine and pregnancy, as well as the birth of a healthy, strong baby, are absolutely incompatible things. Even small doses of nicotine seriously harm the health of women and children. There is no, even theoretically minimum, dose of nicotine that is safe for humans. And even more so for a pregnant woman.
So the use of electronic cigarettes as a safe alternative to regular tobacco during pregnancy is absolutely unacceptable.
Enjoy Your Bath
The device itself is essentially a device that has an LED, battery, sensor and atomizer. So we can talk about the benefits or harm only in relation to the liquid for the vaporizer, experts say. Typically these include propylene glycol, glycerin, flavoring and, in some cases, nicotine.
Of course, these are chemicals whose regular inhalation does not improve health. But still their toxicity is much lower than that of cigarette tars. Propylene glycol is an approved food additive that is viscous and transparent. It has a slightly sweet taste and faint odor. The choice fell on it, since it is non-toxic and is partially excreted from the body unchanged. Its remains are metabolized in the body and converted into lactic acid.
Are e-cigarettes harmful to children?
It would seem, what is the question here? After all, children’s smoking is absolutely unacceptable, including the use of electronic devices. However, buyers of these products are interested in whether electronic cigarettes are harmful to children if they are near a smoker. The answer to this is only positive: after all, children will be forced to inhale nicotine. And a child’s body is much more vulnerable to this narcotic poison than an adult.
There is only one conclusion - you should never use electronic cigarettes if you have a child next to you.
So, an electronic cigarette is clearly not as harmful as a regular one. In any case, the positive fact is the absence of combustion. But it’s hard to call it an absolutely safe product. The presence of the drug nicotine in it, as well as the lack of standards for the production and supervision of this type of product, which is why various impurities, including toxic ones, can get into the liquid, make the use of electronic cigarettes a very dubious alternative to tobacco. You need to quit smoking using special medications once and for all!
Nicotine - can be dangerous
Nicotine is a psychoactive substance from the group of alkaloids, therefore it causes physical and mental dependence and inevitably leads to diseases of the cardiovascular system. By giving up smoking tobacco, you will stop delivering a huge amount of toxic substances into your body that shorten your life.
When switching from a regular cigarette to an electronic cigarette, heavy smokers do not always get the usual expected sensations, and therefore, some deliberately increase the dose of nicotine in the liquid or use the device too often. In this case, the body receives an even larger dose of nicotine, then using an electronic cigarette becomes more dangerous than smoking tobacco.
Attention: the effect of nicotine depends on the dose; an overdose can lead to unpleasant consequences and even death.
Symptoms of nicotine overdose: headache and dizziness, tachycardia, increased blood pressure, weakness, nausea, increased salivation, abdominal pain, etc.
Security measures
Please note that you need to choose cigarettes carefully. The device must have a certificate from WHO, which confirms the quality of the device itself and protects against counterfeiting.
Vaporizer liquids should be purchased from reliable stores, as among them there are many fakes containing substances no less dangerous than those found in regular cigarettes.
The main thing is to approach your choice responsibly and not indulge yourself with the illusion that electronic versions of devices will allow you to maintain a bad habit and will not cause harm. The best thing to do is to give up this addiction completely.
