Health News
- Study Finds That Teens Who Use E-cigarettes Are More Than Twice As Likely As Non-using Teens To Start Smoking Tobacco Products
image: usnews.comTeens who use electronic cigarettes may be more than twice as likely to start smoking tobacco than those who have never used the devices, according to a study at the University of Southern California. ?Recreational e-cigarette use is...
- E-cigs: How Safe Or How Risky? Vox Reporter Looks At Evidence
Electronic cigarettes are becoming more popular, but how safe or how risky are they? At this point, the bottom line about e-cigarettes is: "If you're a chronic smoker looking for a nicotine fix and trying to decide between smoking and vaping, most...
- Smokers Using Electronic Cigarettes Are Less Likely To Quit Smoking Than Those Who Don't Use The Devices, California Study Finds
The sudden increase in use of electronic cigarettes has prompted questions about whether they actually help people quit smoking. A study published online in the American Journal of Public Health found that individuals who use e-cigarettes are actually...
- Teens Turning To Flavored Cigars
A study shows teens are dispensing with cigarettes and turning to flavored mini-cigars with fun flavors ? strawberry, chocolate, vanilla ? enticing to young palates. (National Cigar Museum picture) "Young smokers say these cigarette-size little cigars...
- E-cigarettes Are Untested And Promote Nicotine Addiction, Uk Professors Say
In the wake of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's move to classify the electronic cigarette as tobacco rather than a more strictly regulated drug-delivery device, two University of Kentucky professors outline the dangers, and false claims, of...
Health News
Liquids in some e-cigs are linked to serious lung diseases
Electronic cigarettes, which come in multiple flavors such as cotton candy, vanilla custard and unicorn milk, may not be as safe an alternative to traditional cigarettes as some would like to believe. "Some of the flavorings that make [e-cigs] so enticing may have their own toxic consequences," Sara Shipley Hiles writes for The Washington Post. E-cigarettes are not regulated, but the Food and Drug Administration is thinking about extending its authority to them.
Studies show that liquids in some e-cigs are associated with lung irritation and even some serious diseases. Diacetyl, a butter-flavored chemical, has been linked to bronchiolitis obliterans, which is a life-threatening obstructive lung disease. Jessica Barrington-Trimis, an epidemiologist at the University of Southern California, said the flavorings "have a history of being known respiratory toxins."
Konstantions Farsalinos, a researcher at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, uses e-cigs. He tested 159 sweet e-cig liquids and discovered that 74 percent contained diacetyl or a chemically similar substitute, acetyl propionyl. "Among the ones that tested positive, nearly half would expose users to levels that exceed recommended workplace limits for breathing the two chemicals," Hiles writes.
While Diacetyl is safe to eat?it's found in butter, beer and other foods?breathing it might not be safe. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported that eight workers in a Missouri popcorn plant got bronchiolitis obliterans?also called "popcorn lung"?as a result of breathing diacetyl during work in 2002. Five died from respiratory problems, and four of them needed lung transplants, Hiles writes.
Farsalinos believes acetyl propionyl and diacetyl should be removed from e-cig vapors because "it's a 100 percent avoidable risk." John Hallagan, senior advisor and general counselor of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, said, "When we saw flavors were being used in e-cigarettes, we wanted to put the word out right away that it's a possibility that flavors being inhaled through an e-cigarette could also be harmful. Flavors are not meant to be inhaled."
Studies show that liquids in some e-cigs are associated with lung irritation and even some serious diseases. Diacetyl, a butter-flavored chemical, has been linked to bronchiolitis obliterans, which is a life-threatening obstructive lung disease. Jessica Barrington-Trimis, an epidemiologist at the University of Southern California, said the flavorings "have a history of being known respiratory toxins."
Konstantions Farsalinos, a researcher at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, uses e-cigs. He tested 159 sweet e-cig liquids and discovered that 74 percent contained diacetyl or a chemically similar substitute, acetyl propionyl. "Among the ones that tested positive, nearly half would expose users to levels that exceed recommended workplace limits for breathing the two chemicals," Hiles writes.
While Diacetyl is safe to eat?it's found in butter, beer and other foods?breathing it might not be safe. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported that eight workers in a Missouri popcorn plant got bronchiolitis obliterans?also called "popcorn lung"?as a result of breathing diacetyl during work in 2002. Five died from respiratory problems, and four of them needed lung transplants, Hiles writes.
Farsalinos believes acetyl propionyl and diacetyl should be removed from e-cig vapors because "it's a 100 percent avoidable risk." John Hallagan, senior advisor and general counselor of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, said, "When we saw flavors were being used in e-cigarettes, we wanted to put the word out right away that it's a possibility that flavors being inhaled through an e-cigarette could also be harmful. Flavors are not meant to be inhaled."
- Study Finds That Teens Who Use E-cigarettes Are More Than Twice As Likely As Non-using Teens To Start Smoking Tobacco Products
image: usnews.comTeens who use electronic cigarettes may be more than twice as likely to start smoking tobacco than those who have never used the devices, according to a study at the University of Southern California. ?Recreational e-cigarette use is...
- E-cigs: How Safe Or How Risky? Vox Reporter Looks At Evidence
Electronic cigarettes are becoming more popular, but how safe or how risky are they? At this point, the bottom line about e-cigarettes is: "If you're a chronic smoker looking for a nicotine fix and trying to decide between smoking and vaping, most...
- Smokers Using Electronic Cigarettes Are Less Likely To Quit Smoking Than Those Who Don't Use The Devices, California Study Finds
The sudden increase in use of electronic cigarettes has prompted questions about whether they actually help people quit smoking. A study published online in the American Journal of Public Health found that individuals who use e-cigarettes are actually...
- Teens Turning To Flavored Cigars
A study shows teens are dispensing with cigarettes and turning to flavored mini-cigars with fun flavors ? strawberry, chocolate, vanilla ? enticing to young palates. (National Cigar Museum picture) "Young smokers say these cigarette-size little cigars...
- E-cigarettes Are Untested And Promote Nicotine Addiction, Uk Professors Say
In the wake of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's move to classify the electronic cigarette as tobacco rather than a more strictly regulated drug-delivery device, two University of Kentucky professors outline the dangers, and false claims, of...