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E-cigarette smoke may contain cancer-causing chemicals. Good research about the benefits and dangers of e-cigs is still needed, but data continues to appear about the new smoking replacement. The most recent research has found that the smoke replacement may not be completely safe. “Under certain conditions, taking 10 puffs from an e-cigarette would expose a user to about 2.5 times as much formaldehyde as he or she would get from smoking a single tobacco cigarette. Formaldehyde is used as an industrial disinfectant and as an ingredient in permanent-press fabrics, plywood, glues and other household products. It is also formed when the propylene glycol and glycerol in e-cigarette liquids and oxygen are heated together. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer says formaldehyde can cause leukemia and nasopharyngeal cancer. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers the chemical a ‘probable human carcinogen.’” The amount of the chemical made depended on the voltage of the e-cig. “When the e-cigarette was used on the ‘low voltage’ setting of 3.3 volts, the researchers didn’t detect any formaldehyde in the vapor. However, when the device was on the ‘high voltage’ setting of 5 volts, they measured an average of 380 micrograms of formaldehyde per sample.” While the jury is still out on e-cigs, caution should be taken when deciding whether or not to use them.
