Popular myths about e-cigarettes debunked by existing research

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1. Passively inhaled vapour (Second-hand vapor) is NOT harmful for your health

Igor Burstyn, toxicologist at the University of Drexel, concluded that there is no risk associated with the passive inhalation of vapour emitted by e-cigarettes. The study was financed by CASAA (The consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association).

“There is no serious concern about the contaminants such as volatile organic compounds (formaldehyde, acrolein, etc.) in the liquid or produced by heating. While these contaminants are present, they have been detected at problematic levels only in a few studies that apparently were based on unrealistic levels of heating.”

“There was no evidence of potential for exposures of e-cigarette users to contaminants that are associated with risk to health at a level that would warrant attention if it were an involuntary exposure.” – concludes Igor Burstyn

2. Vaping improves lungs function in smokers

There are multiple studies which were not able to find any side effects of vaping that affected the lungs. One of the most impressive discoveries is that of Dr Polosa, in which asthmatic smokers who switched to vaping recorded a significant improvement of lungs function.

“E-cigarettes can help smokers who suffer from asthma to reduce the number of cigarettes, or even to completely renounce smoking, therefore asthma associated symptoms are significantly reduced.” – writes Polosa

3. Nicotine in e-cigarettes does NOT create dependence levels as high as tobacco cigarettes

Nicotine on its own is nowhere near as addictive as heroin, cocaine, or other substances and drugs mentioned by non-experts to scare e-cigarettes users. In fact, a French expert Dr Etter concluded that vaping creates a significantly lower dependence when compared to smoking, and is actually as harmless as other nicotine-based products used as alternatives to quit smoking (nicotine gums, plasters, etc).

“Some e-cigarette users were addicted to e-cigarettes containing nicotine, but these products proved to be significantly less addictive than tobacco cigarettes” – state Etter and Eissenberg – “Electronic cigarettes are less addictive than nicotine gums, which in essence, are regarded as non-addictive”.

4. E-cigarettes are NOT full of formaldehyde

In a famous journal published by New England Journal of Medicine, a few researchers from Portland State University discovered that some primitive resistances called CE4, emit a dangerous level of formaldehyde. The problem of this study was that the PSU machines used were over-forcing the resistance to reach significantly higher temperatures exceeding by far those generated by a regular e-cigarette.

Their research was debunked by a lot of studies, the most important one being a 2017 study conducted by Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos who aimed to replicate the same experiment. He thoroughly describes how Portland State researchers used devices which produced “dry hits” or “burnt hits”, as such as no vapor was being inhaled, only overheated metal.

“Testing electronic cigarettes in such manner is no different than overcooking the food until the point it becomes inedible, like a piece of coil, and concluding that people consuming it would be exposed to carcinogens in their daily routine” – writes Dr Farsalinos.

5. Sweet flavours DO NOT target children and young adults

Very often sweet or fruity flavours are criticised as potentially targeting children and young adults. Most of the time though these are chosen by adult vapers to replace and get rid of the unpleasant burnt smell caused by classic cigarettes.

“Consumers of liquids for electronic cigarettes in the USA who use vaping technologies to quit smoking seem to succeed more easily than those using traditional methods such as nicotine plasters or nicotine chewing gum” – says Alayna Tackett, author of the study Biochemically verified smoking cessation and vaping beliefs among vape store customers.

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