‘Probable carcinogen’ discovered in e-cigarettes

A chemical believed to be carcinogenic has been detected in electronic cigarettes, casting further doubts on how safe it is to use them. Glycidol – designated by the World Health Organisation as a “probable carcinogen” – and acrolein, an irritant to the eyes and respiratory system, are the latest potentially harmful compounds found in e-cigs. Scientists will try to determine if the components occur in quantities to cause problems to users. The new research, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, came as almost 70 per cent of Britain’s GPs rejected the idea of prescribing e-cigs in an online survey by industry website GPonline. They argued there was not enough long-term safety data to justify such a move.


Much still to learn


 These findings underline concerns that there is still much to learn about vaping and its possible dangers. However, UK academics, GPs, the Government and charities are clear that vaping is a far safer alternative to tobacco. “The clear consensus in the UK is that that e-cigarettes are safer than tobacco cigarettes,” said George Butterworth, Cancer Research UK’s tobacco control manager. “It’s just a question of how much safer. And while we need to know a lot more about the long-term effects of vaping, relative to smoking, they are likely to pale into insignificance.” Hugo Destaillats, of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, who worked in the team which discovered the presence of glycidol in vapour, added: “Regular cigarettes are super-unhealthy. E-cigarettes are just unhealthy.


” ‘Just as harmful’

Linda Bauld, professor of health policy at the University of Stirling who led the NICE guidance group on tobacco harm reduction, agrees there is more to learn about the long-term effects of vaping. “However, what concerns me most is that for the past three years smokers have been more likely to say that they believe e-cigarettes are just as harmful as smoking,” she said. “That perception is wrong.” Meanwhile, teenagers see electronic cigarettes as “cool” and are trying them on an industrial scale, researchers have found.

Push towards tobacco

More than 10 per cent of 2,367 14 and 15-year-olds surveyed in Ontario, Canada, by researchers at the University of Toronto had used e-cigarettes, raising concerns that vaping was pushing them towards tobacco. “Our most concerning result was that almost three-quarters of the students surveyed reported trying e-cigarettes primarily because it was something fun, cool or new,” Dr Michael Khoury said. “This is in stark contrast to the motivations of adults, which is to use e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. It suggests, though doesn’t conclude, that e-cigarettes may be drawing in teens into a new, smoking-like behaviour.”

It’s still better to switch if you can’t quit


It’s still better to switch if you can’t quit The reasons for e-cigarettes’ popularity are clear: they deliver nicotine almost as effectively, but without many of the other chemicals present in tobacco smoke.


But new research suggests that they still emit a number of toxic chemicals, especially as the e-cigarette heats up – a fact not included on the packaging. The studies show there is a lack of information on their possible harm. This is unlikely to change soon, since the health effects of tobacco use can take several decades to emerge, and it is probable that the same will be true for e-cigarettes.

The rapid growth in the use of e-cigarettes has taken the public health community and tobacco industry by surprise, with health professionals hurrying to carry out research to develop evidence-based guidelines and policies.


 But even with this latest evidence, however, I would still strongly encourage smokers to switch to e-cigarettes if they can’t quit altogether, as any harm will still be considerably less.

What we need now is for research to provide information on which e-cigarette products are likely to be the least harmful.


Marcus Munafo, professor of biological psychology, Bristol University

Resource :https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/health/probable-carcinogen-discovered-e-cigarettes/