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Week 6 [24.04-30.04.2017] Are electronic cigarettes harmful to health?

Electronic cigarettes become more and more popular. Question of the health safety of these devices is still remaining open, but new researches are conducted and new facts are revealed. So are the electronic cigarettes harmful?

There are about 500 electronic cigarettes brands and more than 7,000 liquids for them. They work on different principles and contain different amounts of nicotine, toxic substances and carcinogens. Based on the researches, it is quite difficult to say anything specific about the safety of all devices. Also, many researches have limited sources, some error or are biased.

These facts divided the scientific community. On the one hand, every research on the tobacco industry will prove that the tobacco is a pure evil. For people who are making those researches, e-cigarettes are harmful by default.

On the other hand, researchers who consider electronic cigarettes more acceptable than usual. According to them, these devices can save millions people lives.


The main argument in favor of electronic cigarettes is that they don’t contain tobacco. Vapor in them doesn’t contain harmful smoke, tar and carbon monoxide. Also, they include less toxic substances and carcinogens than standard cigarettes.

There is one research1 which shows that cells, under the vapor influence from electronic cigarettes, had similar genetic changes to those which have occurred in the cells under the impact of the regular smoking.

Another research2 shows that the process of the liquid heating in electronic cigarettes can change its structure and can transform safe chemicals into dangerous ones.
This confrontation between researches raises the question if electronic cigarettes can lead lung cancer. It's difficult to answer. Too much variety of these products creates difficulties for researches.

So, is it true that electronic cigarettes are safer than standard cigarettes? Most researchers tend to have a positive answer despite the lack of accurate data. Since the rapid negative impact of electronic cigarettes is less than from standard cigarettes, many scientists agree that this is a good way to reduce the harm from smoking for smokers, at least in the short term.

Maybe the dispute about health affecting by electronic cigarettes is useless. Depending on who you ask, you can hear that electronic cigarettes are the best technological solution of the smoking problem or a global threat to public health.

Questions:
1)      What do you think about the popularity of e-cigarettes? Do you think they are safer for health?
2)      How do you feel about vapers?
3)      Do you think that an e-cigarettes are a solution to the problem of smoking or a future threat to public health?
Sources:
2)      https://academic.oup.com/ntr/article-abstract/16/10/1319/2509282/Carbonyl-Compounds-in-Electronic-Cigarette-Vapors?redirectedFrom=fulltext


Comments

Anonymous said…
Personally recently I'm using an e-cigarette. It has a lot of advantages for me. I don't need to go outside to 'smoke', because it doesn't smell so badly and for me it's cheaper than traditional cigarettes.
I'm not fascinated about vaping and vapers. People sometimes do it just because it looks cool for them and they can show up in front of other people.
I think that e-cigarettes for sure are healthier and safer for people who used to smoke regular cigarettes non stop. When someone has never been a smoker, starting using e-cigarette can be harmful.
Also I don't think that it will bring a great solution for public health. It may also cause some diseases and problems with health.
Unknown said…
I don't like how e-cigarettes are used. I don't like the fact, that users are "smoking" in areas, where normal cigarettes are forbidden, for example in trains, stores. I'm not sure how it influences health of smoker, but I know that this smoke is pinching my eyes and they are red and flooded after.
I think that e-cigarettes are not a solution, but just a replacement.
Unknown said…
I have always belived that e-cigarettes are a lie. I think that they are less healthy than normal cigarettes. Smoking e-cigarettes is like lying to yourself. You smoke or you don't. It's better when you smoke normal cigarettes because then you know what you smoke. Personally I used to smoke cigarettes but I quit two years ago. It wasn't simple. I gained more than 10 kilos. It's better when you don't start smoking. Some time ago I bought e-cigarette because I wanted to check what they are like and because when you smoke in car you don't have to worry that you will burn something. I stopped using it very quickly beacuse they aren't the same as normal ciagrettes.
Michał Pycek said…
I don't smoke neither regular cigarettes nor e-cigarettes. I hate smoking and smokers annoy me in the public space. This is a topic that does not interest me at all, since I have nothing to do with smoking. To be honest, to me smoking sounds like any other serious addiction, regardless of what kind of cigarette we are talking about. I wish people didn't have the urge to smoke, so we wouldn't have to smell the stink of both type of cigarettes (even if they flavoured).
Absolutely agree with you. Better never start smoking. Indeed, it's not easy quit smoking:(
Ihor Ahnianikov said…
I don't smoke, but my father does - recently I presented him an e-cigarette so he can switch from smoking regular cigarettes, I really hope that e-cigarettes cause less harm. Long-time smokers need nicotine anyway, so substances for e-cigarettes contain it - basically it's not quitting, but trying to minimize the harm from smoking. I don't mind smokers, people can do whatever they want with their health if they do it on purpose and they understand the consequences.

Using e-cigarettes is not a solution, it's just another way of smoking and now it has it's own vaping culture. The bad thing is that now we have to duplicate all "no smoking" signs with "no vaping" signs:)
Unknown said…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that states that "e-cigarettes may contain ingredients that are known to be toxic to humans, and may contain other ingredients that may not be safe." The agency also suggests that because e-cigarette manufacturers are not required to submit clinical study data to them, the public has no way of knowing "whether e-cigarettes are safe for their intended use, what types or concentrations of potentially harmful chemicals are found in these products, or how much nicotine they are inhaling when they use these products." The FDA is also concerned that the marketing efforts of e-cigarettes may increase addiction to nicotine, especially in young people, encouraging them to experiment with real tobacco products.
I think that electronic cigarettes are not healthier than normal cigarettes. In fact you can use it more often and almost everywhere. So you are addiction is even more stronger. For sure, it is not a solution. If you want to be healthier, just stop smoking at all.
Unknown said…
I think that e-cigarettes might be less harmful than normal cigarettes, when you use it as often as "normal" cigarettes. However, as I noticed few times, people who use electronic cigarettes use them much more often than "normal" ones. That kind of attitude might be more harmful, since one uses e-cig much more often. I think that if you want to be healthy you should just stop smoking, it might be hard but surely its safer.
I don't think e-cigarettes are less harmful than normal ones. But biggest problem with them is that we don't have so much research about them as we have about normal. E-cigarettes are chemical product not natural one so it's harder for scientist to do a reliable research about them, because every liquid from different company can have different composition of chemicals.
If normal cigarettes are forbidden in many places I think e-cigarettes should be too. If we can't assure that they aren't harmful they should be treated like normal.
I don’t have anything against electronic cigarettes, for me you can smoke it anywhere as long you don release the smoke right on my face.
I think that they might be healthier than traditional ones, but I don’t think that they are a good way to quit smoking like some people try to suggest. While smoking e-cigarette you don’t really know when to stop, like with regular cigarette.
I think that vapers are quite funny, and sometimes slightly annoying because they constantly talk about their smoking mods or some new liquid they have.
I don't use electronic cigarettes , but many of my friends they are because after I tried them I did not like. I think those who switched from conventional cigarettes to electronic want to quit Smoking as it is to replace one bad habit with another. Electronic cigarettes have not been fully explored in the long term because I do not think you can say that they are safer regular cigarettes all clear as they smoke for many years , at the same time the email was created relatively recently and we can't say how it vleyaet on the body when Smoking them 10-20 years.
Bartosz Łyżwa said…
I usualy smoke few cigarettes per day so I can't have nothing against usual smoking and following this way I can't say nothing bad about smoking e-cigarette. in my opinion, smoking is harmful and spoiling our health and it doesn't depend on kind of smoked cigarette. I have colleagues that bought e-cigarette and they were smoking this for a week, maybe two. After this time they started smoking both, usual and e-cigarette so it wasn't a great idea :D
Luckily for me, I'm not a smoker, so I don’t have to bother about the health effects of any kind of cigarettes. I’m sure that both standard cigarettes and e-cigarettes are hazardous to one’s health. Taking this into account, I could say that it’s better not to smoke at all, but I know it’s not so easy to quit smoking once you became addicted to cigarettes.
From a non-smoker perspective, I can admit that e-cigarettes are much more acceptable for me as they are odor-free. I really don’t like this tobacco smell. That’s why I find vapers far less annoying for non-smokers. Unfortunately, I noticed that many vapers simply chain vape (use their devices almost constantly). Even worse, many of them are young people.
Unknown said…
I have never smoke and cigarettes or e-cigarettes and I think that both of them are toxic and have bad influence on our health and sooner or later people will start to see the results.
Everyone likes vapers, they are simply cool and makes big clouds WOW.
I am not sure but I have heard somewhere that e-cigarettes are carcinogenic.
Magdalena Popek said…
I have never been a smoker and I am veeery happy with it. I don't care which one is or is not healthier - they are cigarettes, they both contain toxic substances and are bad for your health. It is addiction and addictions are what you should get rid of.
I think many people switch to e-cigarettes because they are cool. I've seen people stupid enough to smoke them in closed areas (buses, cafes).
I think a solution to the problem of smoking is quitting smoking.
For me ecigarretes might be as harmful as normal ones. Nicotine is very addictive and when using electronic cigarette you usually use double doses of it than in normal cigarettes (most of my friends made id that way). Also there is know configurations of smoking normal and electronic ones as a mix, because the second one does not smell so you can use them in the office. Quit smoking would be the best solution - but we have to have some addictions :)
Luckily I don't smoke, and I'm very happy about that, so I don't have a strong opinion about e-cigs, but I do believe that they're healthier than normal ones, simply because you're avoiding all substances that are generated during smoking, and replacing them with a single "dose" of nicotine. It's definitely better for non-smokers, as tobacco smoke is almost non-existant and does not hurt people in the process, although nicotine exists in both normal cigs and e-cigs, so you definitely can't say that e-cigs are healthy, they're not.

But it's definitely a first good step to stop smoking - finding a healthier replacement is something every smoker can do, even if he's addicted to it.
Maciej Główka said…
I see more and more people with e-cigarettes on the street. Are they safer? To be honest I don't really care, neither I or my family/close friends smoke. If all those researches are right, e-cigarettes might be a good first step to stop smoking.
I think that vapers are just way to show yourself in front of others. "Look how big smoke I can make". I think it's a bit childish.
Adam Paśniczek said…
It seems to me that the best way is not to smoke at all. I don’t think there is a special replacement that could prevent the disease of smoker. Person who are smoking e-cigarettes or this normal should be aware of the side effects. No matter what the experts says. In 60's and 70's for example many scientist claimed that cigarettes are healthy and there is nothing to fear. After a few years when people started to get sick they changed their mind. In my opinion with e - cigarettes is the same. The future will judge how it really is. Personally I am a smoker but I know consequences of smoking.
Unknown said…
I can't stand people using their stupid e-cigarettes in the public areas. What I should be pleased to smell it's stinky flavor? It is very irritating. I have seen many girls in my gym doing it. I think it is just bad manners.
I used to smoke normal cigarettes, and sometimes I smoke "in a good company", but I always try to find the place, where it won't bother the others.
If the person respects other people and doesn't blow smoke in the public areas, he may use whatever he likes, I don't care.
My friend has an e-cigarette, he thinks that this is less harmful. But he smokes it more often and I think it is still worse that the normal cigarettes.
Vyvyan said…
1) Popularity of e-cigarettes is accurate to be frank. Yes they are healthier than normal cigarettes, and yes they last longer and you don't have to buy one pack per day to keep living. And what's more you don't have to smoke nicotine.
2) I allow them to continue their miserable life.
3) I belive that they are neither. People that want to smoke will smoke. Perhaps it will make smoking healthier but it won't fix the problem. On the other hand it won't escalate much, because smoking is common occurrence in our daily lives.
Unknown said…
Addiction is an addiction, real tobacco or not it's bad for you. There are differences of course, e-cig can be flavoured, doesn't stink and even tastes nice but that doesn't make it less harmful. Companies will never tell us the truth about its impact on health. Just as traditional cigarettes were not considered harmful.
I don't care about vapers. I don't understand it.
And I don't consider e-cigarettes as solution to the problem of smoking, maybe a little diminishment.
Unknown said…
I don't really care, I don't smoke and never did. If it's healthier for the smokers, great, if it's not, well it's not so great, I'm hardly affected. What I do mind is that "vapers" tend to act like because their cigarettes are electronic, they don't have to hide their addiction, they can smoke in public places (including those where nobody in their right mind would smoke an ordinary cigarette).
Are e-cigarettes a solution to the problem of smoking? I think the only solution to that problem is not smoking, and not smoking something healthier.
Unknown said…
I've smoked a lot and one day I decided to but e-cigarette.
In my case it was very bad decision because when I was outside I smoked normal fag but when I was in home I smoked till I get headache...
After that I bought Desmoxan and I stop smoking.

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