The process of heating e-liquids to create an inhalable aerosol also changes their chemical make-up to produce degradation products.
These include, formaldehyde, a substance used to embalm dead bodies; acetaldehyde, a key substance that contributes to a hangover after drinking alcohol; and acrolein, used as a chemical weapon in the first world war and now used as a herbicide.
These chemicals are often detected in e-cigarette samples. However due to different devices and how the samples are collected, the levels measured vary widely between studies.
Often, the levels are very low, leading to proponents of vaping arguing e-cigarettes are far safer than tobacco smoking.
But this argument does not acknowledge that many e-cigarette users (particularly adolescents) were or are not cigarette smokers, meaning a better comparison is between e-cigarette use and breathing “fresh” air.
An e-cigarette user is undoubtedly exposed to more toxins and harmful substances than a non-smoker. People who buy tobacco cigarettes are also confronted with a plethora of warnings about the hazards of smoking, while vapers generally are not.
LIMITED LABELLING ON VAPES
This leads to another reason why it’s impossible to tell what is in vapes – the lack of information, including warnings, on the label.
Even if labels are present, they don’t always reflect what’s in the product. Nicotine concentration of e-liquids is often quite different to what is on the label, and “nicotine-free” e-liquids often contain nicotine.
Source: CNA
