Electronic Cigarette - Health Concerns

Health Concerns

Proponents of electronic cigarettes often claim that electronic cigarettes deliver the experience of smoking while eliminating the smell and health risks associated with tobacco smoke. The base liquids - which include propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), and sometimes polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400) - have been widely used as a food additive, as a base solution for personal care products such as toothpaste, and in medical devices such as asthma inhalers. However, the health effects of inhaling nicotine vapor into lungs are a subject of uncertainty. The health effects of exhaled nicotine and other substances present in the vapor are also uncertain but seem likely to be far less harmful than tobacco smoke.

The fact that e-cigarettes may resemble real tobacco cigarettes has been noted by both supporters and detractors. While e-cigarettes may give nicotine addicts more or less the same amount of nicotine as a conventional cigarette, they do not produce the same toxic smoke that can cause lung disease and cancer when inhaled over time. Since there are no products of combustion to be inhaled, no tobacco toxins are inhaled besides nicotine.