S.J.B.
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E-cigarette smoke found to contain toxic metals
Robert Perkins
USC News
Read the full story here.
This looks like the perfect case of a drug that would benefit from a reasonable level of regulation. Let's hope the lawmakers take in the whole story and don't just look at the headline most news sources are going with, which is along the lines of "E-cigarettes contain TOXIC METALS!!!"
Robert Perkins
USC News
E-cigarettes are healthier for your neighbors than traditional cigarettes, but still release toxins into the air, according to a new study from USC.
Scientists studying secondhand smoke from e-cigarettes discovered an overall 10-fold decrease in exposure to harmful particles, with close-to-zero exposure to organic carcinogens. However, levels of exposure to some harmful metals in secondhand e-cigarette smoke were found to be significantly higher.
While tobacco smoke contains high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — cancer-causing organic compounds — the level of exposure to these substances was reduced to almost zero in secondhand e-cigarette smoke, due to the fact that they do not burn organic material the way old-fashioned cigarettes do.
However, despite the lack of harmful organic material and a decrease in the majority of toxic metals emissions, e-cigarette smoke contains the toxic element chromium, absent from traditional cigarettes, as well as nickel at levels four times higher than normal cigarettes. In addition, several other toxic metals such as lead and zinc were also found in secondhand e-cigarette smoke, though in concentrations lower than for normal cigarettes.
“Our results demonstrate that overall electronic cigarettes seem to be less harmful than regular cigarettes, but their elevated content of toxic metals such as nickel and chromium do raise concerns,” said Constantinos Sioutas, professor at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and corresponding author of the study, which was published online on Aug. 22 by the Journal of Environmental Science, Processes and Impacts.
Read the full story here.
This looks like the perfect case of a drug that would benefit from a reasonable level of regulation. Let's hope the lawmakers take in the whole story and don't just look at the headline most news sources are going with, which is along the lines of "E-cigarettes contain TOXIC METALS!!!"