Smoke from Electronic Cigarette found to contain good amount of toxic metals

A new fact about electronic cigarettes has come up from a study conducted by scientists of University of Southern California. The study showed that the secondhand smoke arising from electronic cigarettes contains toxic metals in high levels. The traditional cigarettes are known to have lesser harmful content when compared to this. The measure of the exposure to these toxic substances was measured by Prof. Constantinos Sioutas and his colleagues. The experiment was conducted in house rooms and offices wherein the participants were asked to smoke both kinds of cigarettes. Then the particle samples were collected for analyzing their content.

The E-cigarette that was used here for comparison was an Elips Serie C. The scientists found out two contrasting facts. First, the smoke from traditional cigarettes contains 10 times more harmful particles and organic carcinogens too. But secondly, on the other side it is E-cigarette the toxic chromium element that is not found in traditional ones. Also here the nickel is present in 4 times the amount found in traditional counterparts. Other toxic metals found include zinc and lead, but there quantity is lower than what is found in other cigarettes. The overall conclusion was that the E-cigarettes are less harmful, but the presence of toxic metals in their smoke is a matter of serious concern.

The reports from WHO say that for now the indoor use of E-cigarettes should not be allowed and ads should be banned until regulatory approval is obtained.

An electronic cigarette or ENDS (electronic nicotine delivery system) is a vaporizer that runs on battery and is used for simulating tobacco smoking. It works by producing a smoke like aerosol. It uses a vaporizer for vaporizing the E-liquid. This is a liquid containing mixture of chemicals like vegetable glycerine, propylene glycol, flavourings and nicotine. Some E-cigarettes don’t use nicotine in their liquid. it cannot be said with certainty that whether smoking an E-cigarette is harmful or beneficial. According to some evidences, it is comparatively better than smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes. However the data on the subject is insufficient to come to an exact conclusion. They still pose an addiction risk. For those who already smoke, this might prove to be a promoter of their addiction. With the increasing use of these cigarettes, number of cases of skin exposure and ingestion of the E-liquid has also increased.

Image used in this story is licensed under CC BY-SA
Author: Michael Dorausch – michaeldorausch.com