i always thought that e-cigs much like most stuff inhaled is bad for you ,but then i have never smoked ,never found an attraction to addictions like this ,but there is never a safer alternative to smoking unless its quitting ,that's the healthier option of course.
but i am sure this article will not cure anyone it might scare them ,but only when one is faced with death do they realise that smoking has no benefits ,even that deos not deter a hard core smoker...it's a matter of choice for the individual......
‘Hidden’ High Levels Of Cancer-Causing Formaldehyde Found in E-Cigarettes
Formaldehyde is considered a “known human carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. (Photo: Getty Images)
E-cigarettes may not be as “safe” an alternative to cigarette smoking as hoped, according to a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers found “hidden” high levels of the known carcinogen formaldehyde in popular tank-system e-cigarettes, by way of formaldehyde-releasing agents given off during the vaping process.
They discovered that when vaping 3 milligrams of liquid at high voltage, e-cigs can generate around 14 milligrams of formaldehyde, which is then inhaled by a smoker.
By contrast, the scientists suggest that a tobacco smoker would take in roughly .15 milligrams of formaldehyde in a standard cigarette, equating to around 3 milligrams in a 20-pack.
“This estimate is conservative because we did not collect all of the aerosolized liquid, nor did we collect any gas-phase formaldehyde,” the researchers write in their paper.
E-cigarettes are very new, largely untested, and not yet regulated, so it’s impossible to say right now whether they are more or less harmful than smoking regular cigarettes — especially since there are thousands of chemicals in standard cigarettes, and formaldehyde is only one.
However, the effects could be huge, the researchers say. They explain that long-term vaping may up lifetime cancer risk by five to 15 times when compared to long-term smoking in a roughly 150-pound person. And there’s the question of whether formaldehyde in cigarettes is as bad a cancer culprit as some believe it to be, and if the formaldehyde-releasing agents behave similarly — or worse — to gaseous formaldehyde in the respiratory tract.
“Formaldehyde-releasing agents may deposit more efficiently in the respiratory tract than gaseous formaldehyde, and so they could carry a higher slope factor for cancer,” the researchers write.
Formaldehyde is a chemical found in cigarette smoke, pressed-wood products, and fuel-burning appliances, and has been linked with leukemia and nasopharyngeal cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Again, the scientists stress there’s no way to know conclusively the long-term health effects of e-cigarettes yet, as they are so new to the market. But this new finding just adds to evidence showing their potential health risks.
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