Teens & E- Cigs

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Raquel Perry, Reporter

In a study published in the journal Pediatrics, Mark Rubinstein, from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and colleagues tested urine samples from 104 teens who average out to be 16.4 years old. Sixty-seven of the kids used e-cigarettes while seventeen used both e-cigarettes and traditional tobacco cigarettes. They then compared the results to 20 teens who did not smoke at all.  

The researchers found that the teens who used e-cigarettes had three times the level of toxic organic compounds detected in the teens who did not smoke. However, the teens who used both e-cigarettes and tobacco cigarettes had three times the level of toxic compounds detected in those who only used the e-cigarettes. 

“Teenagers need to be warned that the vapor produced by e-cigarettes is not harmless water vapor, but actually contains some of the same toxic chemicals found in smoke from traditional cigarettes,” Rubinstein said. “Teenagers should be inhaling air, not products with toxins in them.” 

The researchers also found that some of these toxic chemicals were still detected in teens who used flavored cigarettes without nicotine such as the fruit flavored cigarettes which particularly produce higher amounts of acrylonitrile. This is a big concern for the researchers because fruit flavor seems to be the most popular.  

Glycerin and propylene glycol that is utilized to hold the fluid type of the items smoked in e-cigarettes are viewed as safe at room temperature. Lamentably, they can create harmful and conceivably cancer-causing substances when they are warmed to high temperatures required for vaporization.