By Dakota Vernezze, staff writer
E-cigarette companies are very misleading. They claim their products are a safe alternative to smoking, and target teenagers and young adults, since these groups most likely to try it out.
By making fun flavors like chocolate, many people will think they’re safe and good, so they’ll try them, not knowing the bad effect it’ll have on their bodies.
Many people don’t think about the negative effects that e-cigarettes have on them. Although the product hasn’t been around long enough to see the long term problems, there have been a few independent studies on what lies inside of these dangerous electronics.
Most of the e-cigarettes have nicotine in them, which is a harmful liquid that is found in tobacco products and insecticides. Nicotine and other chemicals such as diacetyl and its chemical cousin, 2,3-pentanedione in e-cigarettes can damage lung tissue and reduce lungs’ ability to keep germs and other harmful substances from entering the body.
Studies in 2014 by Irina Petrache of Indiana University School of Medicine show exposure to nicotine and other vaping chemicals damaged lung cells, causing them to inflame and in some cases bleed.
According to a 2015 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Raquel Rutledge, nicotine liquid is unregulated and an uncontrolled substance. Not only is the nicotine unregulated, all e-cigarettes on a whole are as well.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not done any regulating of the $3.5 billion vaping industry as of right now.
Results from an independent study done with the Journal Sentinel with a Marquette University scientist found that several of the top selling e-cigarettes around Milwaukee used for vaping contains 2,3-pentanedione and diacetyl. Diacetyl is a chemical that forms naturally in butter and beer, and is used to create a buttery
taste in products such as chips, candy, and ice cream. It’s deemed safe if eaten in only trace amounts, but toxic if inhaled, destroying the lungs’ tiniest airways and causing irreversible damage.
While diacetyl is found in natural forms, it’s been the reason for many problems in people that work with the product in coffee roasting facilities and microwave popcorn factories. People who use e-cigarettes are purposefully inhaling this junk and no doubt will end up having serious problems in the future. Not only is there nicotine and diacetyl, according to allergies.com, e-cigarettes contain cancer-causing agents such as nitrosamines and diethylene glycol, ingredients found in car antifreeze.
But it’s not just those who use e-cigarettes who suffer. Even though they don’t produce real smoke, there’s still a chance that the vapor can trigger asthma and allergy attacks among people sitting or standing nearby, exposed to the vapors.
People are normally quick to defend their use of e-cigarettes, but usually are not aware of the consequences that come with inhaling toxic chemicals. As much as the industry claims its product to be a safe alternative to smoking, there are no standards or regulations for the manufacturers to follow.
Rutledge’s report showed many Milwaukee area shops selling e-cigarettes claim their product doesn’t contain these chemicals, but her research shows this may be the case because the industry’s testing isn’t sophisticated enough. The e- cigarettes companies are the ones who test their products, claiming they’re safe, but their testing is not nearly sensitive enough to detect harmful levels in the e-liquid.
So do we really know how dangerous e-cigarettes are? Years will pass and more tests will be made on these products, possibly even fixing their dangers. But until then, it’s important that “vapors” know exactly what they are doing to their bodies.