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 Researchers tested vapor released by a variety of devices filled
with some popular e-cigarette flavors – tobacco, pina colada,
menthol, coffee and strawberry – to compare levels of chemicals
known to cause inflammation and cell damage. They also looked at how
much these chemicals appeared in tobacco smoke and in smoke-free
air.
As expected, cigarette smoke was more toxic than fumes from
e-cigarettes, said senior study author Maciej Goniewicz of Roswell
Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.
E-cigarettes, however, had more toxic chemicals than smoke-free air,
especially when the devices had higher power or voltage and when
used with flavored liquid nicotine.
“We found that strawberry-flavored product was the most toxic among
all liquids we tested,” Goniewicz added by email.
The researchers exposed human lung cells in a dish to smoke,
e-cigarette vapors and air. The cells reacted most strongly to
smoke, by reducing their metabolic activity and increasing output of
inflammation-related chemicals. Similar, but not as strong,
reactions were seen with e-cigarette vapor, compared to no change
with plain air.
Past research has found that higher-voltage e-cigarettes produce a
bigger nicotine jolt, but may also increase levels of dangerous
chemicals like formaldehyde.
“Our findings raise some concerns about the safety of additives used
in e-cigarettes,” Goniewicz said. “If an e-cigarette user
experiences any side effects, for example cough or chest pain, he or
she should consider changing the flavorings in the product and
operating their device in lower-power settings.”
Big U.S. tobacco companies are all developing e-cigarettes. The
battery-powered gadgets feature a glowing tip and a heating element
that turns liquid nicotine and flavorings into a cloud of vapor that
users inhale.
An international review of published research by the Cochrane
Database of Systematic Reviews last month concluded that the devices
could help smokers quit but said much of the existing evidence on
e-cigarette safety was thin.
The current study doesn’t offer a complete picture of e-cigarette
safety or address the potential for health problems to emerge after
long-term use, the authors note.
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But it does suggest flavors may have an outsize impact on safety,
the authors conclude in the journal Tobacco Control.
A separate study in the journal looked at cinnamaldehyde, a chemical
added to liquid nicotine to create cinnamon flavors.
In lab tests of fluids from 39 refill cartridges of liquid nicotine,
20 contained enough cinnamaldehyde to damage cells, the study found.
This included products labeled as cinnamon flavored as well as a
variety of sweet and fruity mixtures.
Here, too, the level of toxicity appeared greater with higher
voltage devices.
“We previously showed that cinnamaldehyde was highly toxic when
tested in vitro with various types of cells,” said senior study
author Prue Talbot of the University of California, Riverside.
“In the new study, we further showed that cinnamaldehyde is much
more widely distributed in e-cigarette products than originally
thought and it appears in many sweet and fruity flavors, which are
among the most popular,” Talbot added by email.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2dhKGdu and http://bit.ly/2dxXNJW Tobacco
Control, online September 15, 2016.
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