E-cigarettes are an increasingly popular alternative to regular cigarettes, with the old fashioned cancer sticks becoming banned in more and more public places as time goes on while E-cigarettes remain largely unscathed. It’s mostly due to the fact that second-hand cigarette smoke is proven to be harmful to bystanders, while e-cigarettes are typically seen as being mostly harmless to both smokers and those who happen to be in the vicinity of smokers.
That is, until now.
According to research published by the American Thoracic Society, certain flavors of vaping liquid can possibly alter lung tissue cells. According to Engadget,
During the study, researchers exposed human airway epithelial cells to doses of 13 e-cig flavors for periods of 30 minutes and 24 hours. 5 of the 13 displayed “adverse effects to cells in a dose-dependent manner.” Of those five, three flavors — Hot Cinnamon Candies, Banana Pudding (Southern Style), and Menthol Tobacco — were toxic to lung cells at higher doses in the 30-minute test.
What’s more, when cells were exposed for 24 hours, the same trio of flavors stunted cell growth as the dosage increased. Also of note: the flavorings’ negative effects didn’t occur with nicotine or the e-liquid vehicle on its own (propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin).
While the study is described as still “ongoing,” cell biology graduate student Temperance Rowell stated that “Given the increasing popularity of flavored e-cigarettes, a better understanding of their ingredients, the potential health risks of these ingredients, and the causes of these risk is urgently needed.”
[H/T Engadget, photo via TBEC REVIEW]