are electronic cigarettes dangerous? at this point the public healthexpert in me is screaming "of course you idiot, do you know nothing?!" certainly there are very real fears thatthese sleek electronic tubes are hooking a newgeneration of kids on nicotine, and that this drug should not beconsidered safe and socially acceptable in any form. but, as with most things,reality is a little more complex. and in this case, it has an intriguing twist. electronic cigarettes are primarilydesigned to get nicotine
into your body via your lungs, withoutmany of the downside to conventional cigarettes. the beauty of the system is that youretain the physical experience of smoking - or vaping as it's called in thiscase - but with out the actual smoke.e-cigarettes use a liquid such as glycerin into which ingredients likenicotine and even flavorings are dissolved. when you take a puff, this liquid isvaporized on a hot wire and forms a cloud of fine particles that, when inhaled, penetrate deep into yourlungs.
the good news for smokers is thatelectronic cigarettes don't produce many of the harmfulcompounds that burning tobacco does. and you don't get the dangerous side-streamsmoke that regular cigarettes produce. so at first blush, e-cigarettes look likea great way to get your nicotine hit. they might even possibly help somepeople kick the smoking habit, although the jury is still out that one. but vaping on an e-cigarette still means pumping your bloodstream full of atoxic substance.
nicotine is addictive, its toxic at highdoses, and it has a whole range effects atlower doses that may not be good for you. but surprisingly, there's not much knownabout whether the occasional vape presents a significant risk. however, when you puff on an e-cig,it's not just nicotine you're inhaling. recentresearch has shown that, in addition to what they are designed todo, some electronic cigarettes deliver a range of hazardous metals and other chemicals direct to your lungswith each inhale.
admittedly, these only seem to be presentat very low levels - probably too low to be dangerous in most cases. but without regulations on e-cigperformance and use, this may not always be the case. what'sworse, because of these potential contaminants,even nicotine-free electronic cigarettes may be moreharmful than people think if they're not regulated. that said, there's no reason why thetechnology can't be developed to avoid unwanted contamination.
and this is where things get interesting,because it isn't just nicotine that can be put intothese little tubes. think, for a second, about the increasinglegal use of marijuana for medical purposes. puffing on a regular joint may make youfeel better, but you're also stuffing your lungs witha whole load of harmful combustion products that yourbody will not thank you for in the long run. but what if, instead, you put the main activeingredient in pot -
delta nine tetrahydrocannabinol or thc - into an e-joint. could this be ahealthier way to appreciate its therapeutic benefits where medicinalmarijuana is legal? it's an intriguing possibility, and it opens the door to novel forms ofself-medication. but as with any use of electronic vaporizers, it only makes sense if regulators andmanufacturers work together to ensure that these devices deliver what they aresupposed to, to whom they're supposed to, and no more.
don't get me wrong: i still think it'scrazy to fill your lungs with potentially harmful stuff- if nothing else, these are delicate organsand your life depends on them. but for some people, the pros and cons of e-cigarettes may not be as black and white as you might at first think. if you have any thoughts onelectronic cigarettes and vaping, please join the conversation in thecomments. and remember to check out the additional resources in the blurb below.