Due to the relative infancy of the electronic cigarette industry, there are a number of valid concerns regarding these devices coming from both e-cig smokers and non-users. Unfortunately, most of the time, the public is subjected to invalid, inaccurate and straight out scare tactic myths by the press, misrepresenting what the real problems are. Other times, the information is valid, but the choice of words is incorrect, or important information is left out, making it seem much worse than reality.
These substitutes to the analog tobacco cigarette are being embraced by large numbers of smokers who wish to cut down on their smoking as well as those who wish to kick the tobacco habit entirely.
The E-cig industry grosses almost two billion dollars every year, with industry growth exponentially growing. A Center for Disease Control study spanning two years found the doubling of numbers in young e-cigarette smokers from the year 2011 to the next. It is simply natural for many people to be concerned with what is in these electronic cigarettes, as well as the effects on a person’s health for the short term and the long run.
Research
The Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Department of Health Behavior has produced research that focuses on the impact of e-cigarette “vapor” when using high powered vaporizers. The study also delved into the impact and effect of exposure to what are called carcinogenic carbonyls. What are these, and what can they do to the human body?
E-cigarettes use an atomizer or heating element to heat the liquid. The said study was meant to identify the chemicals produced during normal e-cigarette use, as well as the chemical output generated by exposing the liquid to different voltages. This is important because there are some electronic cigarettes that permit the user to tweak the voltage passed to the atomizer for different levels of vapor production (and ingestion) and varying degrees of the so-called “throat hit.”
E-cigarettes that atomize liquid at low voltages were found to produce a vapor with the faintest traces of a number of toxic substances. These substances include – but are not limited to – acetone, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde. Note that these chemicals are also present in actual tobacco cigarettes in much higher amounts. As expected, increased voltage also increases the temperature the liquid reaches, thus increasing toxic chemical levels also.
The Real Lowdown
It is important to note that this only occurs in higher-voltage e-cigs, so it is best to tread lightly and use low-voltage devices when using e-cigarette devices. But before thinking that there is danger out there waiting to catch you, what you also need to know is that the study found that only very high powered, and often “modified” devices created the toxic byproducts found in tobacco smoke. Regular rechargeable e-cigarettes do not figure in that list. Personal vaporizers are more of the culprits but not in a large part.
Modified Atomizers
It has become a trend to build and modify mechanical vaporizers, and these devices can be tweaked to generate much high voltage all while lowering the atomizer resistance, creating much larger clouds of vapor than normal. It is, in these cases that acetone, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde we’re found in trace amounts. With that said, stick to the good, tested, regular devices, and you have nothing to worry about.