Smoking vs. vaping chemicals
Aside from the stench of tobacco cigarette smoke vs. the
usually pleasant scents associated with vaping, burning tobacco generates
a smoke that is a toxic cocktail of chemicals that affect not only the
smoker, but others as well.
Chemicals in tobacco cigarette smoke
- Acetaldehyde: suspected carcinogen.
- Acetone: irritant: can cause kidney and liver damage.
- Acrolein: extremely toxic.
- Acrylonitrile: suspected human carcinogen.
- 1-aminonaphthalene: causes cancer.
- 2-aminonaphthalene: causes bladder cancer.
- Ammonia: raises blood pressure.
- Benzene: carcinogen.
- Benzo[a]pyrene: mutagenic and highly carcinogenic
- 1,3-Butadiene: suspected carcinogen.
- Butyraldehyde: damages the lining of nose and lungs.
- Cadmium: a heavy metal and highly toxic
- Carbon Monoxide: decreases heart and muscle function.
- Catechol: causes respiratory tract irritation and dermatitis.
- Chromium: heavy metal and carcinogen.
- Cresol: causes upper respiratory, nasal and throat irritation.
- Crotonaldehyde: thought to interfere with immune function.
- Formaldehyde: carcinogen
- Hydrogen Cyanide: lethal poison
- Hydroquinone: affects central nervous system effects.
- Isoprene: irritates skin,eyes and mucous membranes.
- Lead: causes brain damage
- Methyl Ethyl Ketone: depresses the central nervous system.
- Nickel: causes bronchial asthma and is a known carcinogen.
- Nicotine: increases in heart rate and blood pressure, addictive element
- Nitric Oxide: linked to Huntingtonís, Alzheimerís and Parkinsonís disease and asthma.
- NNN, NNK, and NAT: known or possible carcinogens
- Phenol: damages the the liver, kidneys; respiratory, cardiovascular and central nervous system.
- Polonium - radioactive*
- Propionaldehyde: skin, eye and respiratory system irritant
- Pyridine: causes eye and upper respiratory tract irritation
- Quinoline: causes genetic damage and is a possible carcinogen
- Resorcinol: skin and eye irritant
- Styrene: carcinogen
- Toluene: linked to permanent brain damage.
... and thousands of other chemicals. No wonder I was feeling the way
I was and it's amazing so many smokers get to live as long as we do.
* Australian scientist Dr Karl Kruszelnicki says the polonium
released in tobacco cigarettes is the equivalent to 200 chest x-rays a year for people who smoke a pack of cigarettes every day.
Chemicals in ecig vapours
Compare that partial list with chemicals and compounds in e-cigarette
- Propylene glycol (not Ethylene glycol - which is toxic). Used in asthma inhalers and nebulizers.
experiment using animals determined "air containing these vapors in amounts up to the saturation point is completely
harmless". The USA FDA has classified propylene glycol as
"generally recognised as safe".
- Vegetable glycerol - low toxicity. Used in medications, cosmetic
and food items.
The only other chemicals are in the flavourings, which (if coming
from a reputable merchant) are food grade and generally recognised as
safe. By volume, flavours make up a very small percentage of eliquids.
However, it needs to be stated that food flavorings are designed to
be digested, not vaporised and inhaled and the effects of using food
flavors in such a way over a long period are yet to be established.
That said, very few carcinogenic chemicals have been found in e-cigarette vapours, and those present only appear to be in trace quantities - far
less than in burning tobacco and similar or less than in recognised
nicotine replacement therapies.
Unlike cigarette smoke, nearly all of the nicotine is absorbed in
Dr Joel Nitzkin, Chair of the Tobacco Control Task Force for the American Association of Public Health Physicians,
believes the hazards posed by e-cigarettes would be much lower than
one percent of that posed by smoking tobacco cigarettes.
In fact, the AAPHP
"Substances in the cigarette smoke, other than the nicotine,
inhaled deep into the lung, cause most of the tobacco-attributable
illness and death in the United States."
The AAPHP recommends electronic cigarettes as a less hazardous smoke-free tobacco/nicotine product.
Ecigs are a viable harm reduction device in my opinion, one that more
smokers need to know about.
Ecigs have really only been in use for the past few years, so nothing
is known about the long term effects. However, given 50% of tobacco
smokers will die as a direct result of their habit (and often in a
horrible way), it would seem to me that it's a risk worth taking.
It was for me as I really had nothing to lose as I was quite certain
I was going to be one of the 50% that smoking would kill - and probably
sooner rather than later.