Archive for February, 2009

E-smoking Doesn’t Produce Cancer-Causing Substances Found in Traditional Smoking

There is a good reason why e-cigarettes are safer than regular cigarettes: In the United States, traditional cigarette manufacturers use 599 additives approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Yet, when burned-these safe additives change into harmful cancer-causing chemicals. Some of these chemicals are:

Arsenic-cases cancer, damages the heart and the blood vessels

Benzene-linked to leukemia and other forms of cancer

Cadmium-causes cancer and damages the arteries and kidneys

Formaldehyde-linked to cancer of nasal sinuses and leukemia

Tar-a mixture of harmful chemicals that builds in the lungs

E-cigarettes don’t contain such substances-thus, the health risks related to e-smoking, if any, are limited.

Caution: E-cigarettes Not Yet Officially Approved

Although the argument in favor of e-cigarettes is strong, the World Health Organization (WHO) hasn’t yet approved e-smoking: “WHO knows of no evidentiary basis for the marketers’ claim that the electronic cigarette helps people quit smoking.”

“Indeed, as far as WHO is aware, no rigorous, peer-reviewed studies have been conducted showing that the electronic cigarette is a safe and effective nicotine replacement therapy.”

An e-cigarette, or electronic cigarette, is an electronic device that converts nicotine liquid into water vapor. The e-cigarette has three main parts: a battery, atomizer, and cartridge. The battery, the largest part, has an indicator light on one side and it screws onto the atomizer. The heart of every e-cigarete is the atomizer, which converts the e-liquid into smoke. The cartridge, a cylindrical inhaler that contains the e-liquid, attaches to the atomizer.