E-cigarettes are now a huge trend, but they aren't as safe of an alternative as you may think. 

While driving to work the other day, I listened to the dialogue of a local radio station host as he ran through his list of things to say in between songs. I’m usually not interested in these dialogues, as they are often composed of celebrity gossip or obvious product placement lines. During this dialogue, however, the host mentioned something with a little more substance than usual. He went on a lengthy rant about the new FDA regulations that are being considered for electronic cigarettes. He passionately encouraged listeners to write to their representatives to let them know that they should throw out the regulations entirely, even mentioning that the new regulations were merely catering to the bigger tobacco companies that only sell traditional tobacco products like cigars and cigarettes.

Although legislation can sometimes be heavily influenced by lobbying, rather than public good, this set of a regulations for a relatively new consumer product should be examined more closely before they are vilified. The first patented e-cig was made in China by a company called Runyon, in 2004. In 2008, they sold over 300,000 e-cigs.

With the massive number of vapor shops popping up in many shopping centers, it isn’t hard to see how much the market has grown over just 10 years. E-cigarettes work by using a heating element to vaporize a solution of synthetic nicotine and propylene glycol, which is then inhaled. The nicotine is then processed by the lungs and enters the blood stream, much in the same way that the smoke from a cigarette would, but without many of the harmful carbon compounds and chemicals.

Propylene glycol is recognized as safe by the FDA, for a variety of uses, but it’s primary health-related applications are as a preservative in food, and as a solvent in pharmaceuticals, such as diazepam (valium). Although propylene glycol has been approved for these applications, it is important to remember that there is a general lack of evidence on the mid and long-term effects that the high temperature and subsequent inhalation of its gas form could cause.

According to Erika Sward, the assistant vice president of the American Lung Association, “E-cigarettes are guilty until proven innocent.” This way of thinking may seem counterintuitive, due to the fact that it opposes our justice system model in the US, but we must consider that assuming  these products are a safe alternative to cigarettes could lead to health-consequences for the general public.  

"Quitting Tool," a study recently published in The Lancet, a peer reviewed scientific journal of oncology, neurology and infectious diseases, noted that there isn’t enough research evidence to prove that e-cigs encourage users to quite using conventional tobacco products, or that they are a safe alternative to these products. Other equally reputable studies, such as one by University College London, showed that smokers were about 60 percent more likely to quite using conventional tobacco products when they took up e-cigs. So the verdict is mixed on whether the use of c-cigarettes helps current conventional tobacco users to switch entirely. The answer to this question probably doesn’t matter, overall, as it is dependent on a number of complicated factors in each individual’s life. The primary issue, then, is to establish whether it is appropriate for people to use e-cigs in order to eventually quit using nicotine products all together.

Craig Youngblood, the president of the InLife E-Cigarette Company, rejects the idea that his company’s products are a “smoking cessation device,” meaning that they would stop the use of any nicotine product in the long run, including e-cigs. Pfizer, the same company that makes Viagra, has a smoking cessation product on the market called Nicotrol, which delivers nicotine in an inhaled mist, similar to e-cigs, but without a heating element. Like patches and gum, Nicotrol offers varying levels of nicotine in order to slowly wane users off of nicotine products entirely. Smokers who use e-cigs can vary the level of nicotine by adjusting the temperature of the device. This would seem to easily lead to relapses in the process of quitting, as a smoker can obtain a higher dosage of nicotine with the mere press of a button. If you are trying to quite all nicotine products, conventional methods would be more effective.

Although it is likely that the simple mix in electronic cigarettes is safer than conventional tobacco products, which contain a number of known carcinogens, we should exercise cautious optimism in accepting e-cigs as a healthy alternative to smoking. I understand that the widespread use of mind altering substances, like alcohol and nicotine, aren’t going to be dropped any time soon. With this in mind, if you feel that you must use nicotine products, consider that e-cigs are a cheaper long term investment and are likely safer than conventional tobacco products.