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Research into second hand emissions from cigarettes and e-cigarettes (Abstract) has found that while there is a tenfold decrease in overall exposure to carcinogenic particulate matter from e-cigarettes compared to cigarettes, there were increased levels of certain toxic metals. The researchers noted that more of this came from the device itself as opposed to the liquid used in the device.
In recent years, electronic cigarettes have gained increasing popularity as alternatives to normal (tobacco-containing) cigarettes. In the present study, particles generated by e-cigarettes and normal cigarettes have been analyzed and the degree of exposure to different chemical agents and their emission rates were quantified. Despite the 10-fold decrease in the total exposure to particulate elements in e-cigarettes compared to normal cigarettes, specific metals (e.g. Ni and Ag) still displayed a higher emission rate from e-cigarettes. Further analysis indicated that the contribution of e-liquid to the emission of these metals is rather minimal, implying that they likely originate from other components of the e-cigarette device or other indoor sources. Organic species had lower emission rates during e-cigarette consumption compared to normal cigarettes. Of particular note was the non-detectable emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from e-cigarettes, while substantial emission of these species was observed from normal cigarettes. Overall, with the exception of Ni, Zn, and Ag, the consumption of e-cigarettes resulted in a remarkable decrease in secondhand exposure to all metals and organic compounds. Implementing quality control protocols on the manufacture of e-cigarettes would further minimize the emission of metals from these devices and improve their safety and associated health effects.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Lagg on Friday August 29 2014, @04:25PM
Yeah. I was actually hoping that it wasn't more hysteria because if there were more than 4-5 ingredients to whichever liquid they were testing with then I wanted to know about it so that I could tell all the people who I've helped get off cigarettes with these to never touch anything related to whichever store they got the liquid from. Alas, it's just more confusing of the coil unit for something inherent to the device. In addition to what you said those shitty "mini ecigs" that try to look like cigarettes have mesh screens wrapped in cotton which burn up real quick and quite possibly actually can poison someone.
What a great opportunity to produce a nice list of trustworthy coil units. Too bad it constantly gets wasted. For those curious, the 4-5 ingredients in question are water, nicotine (optional), propylene glycol (the thing that gives it a harsh smoke-like feel), vegetable glycerin (the thing that gives it a thick tasty sweet vapor) and whatever they use for flavoring. Since I don't like nicotine but still like the devices for their technical neatness I get 100% VG non-nicotine liquid, meaning 3 ingredients at most. I really don't know where people get this "has more chemicals than cigarettes" crap from.
http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
(Score: 2) by sjames on Monday September 01 2014, @01:29PM
A real problem is the way the e-cig industry is sharply divided into two segments. One is selling way overpriced cigalikes with little concern for quality and minimal knowledge of the product. The other is a group of dedicated small businessmen and individuals dealing in high quality but reasonably priced products that often bear little to no resemblance to cigarettes.
The former group include the tobacco companies who ,already having compliance procedures and legal teams in place, welcome onerous FDA regulation so they can have the market to themselves. The latter generally use their own products and so have a vested interest in their quality and safety without need for regulation.
There is also a significant enthusiast community which seems, in combination with the small business vendors, to have done a good job of self-regulation. They even managed to standardize the connectors by consensus.
There seems to be a strong trend towards the rebuildables both for the low cost of consumables (silica or cotton wick, steel mesh, nichrome or kanthal wire) and for better control of the product.
Personally, I had been using 34 ga. nichrome wire and 2mm silica wick until I decided to try 32 ga. kanthal a couple weeks ago. It seems to produce a more durable coil that works well. I mix my own liquid from stock 10% nicotine in pg, a mixture of PG and vg to dilute it down and various food flavorings and a tiny bit of water to make it wick better.