Toxins Dangerous to Smokers and Bystanders
E-cigs are also associated with other health risks. In one study from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,23 researchers examined devices owned by 56 users, finding a significant number generated unsafe levels of lead, nickel, chromium and magnesium. These results were consistent with previous studies,24 but they found larger amounts when liquid had been exposed to heating coils.25 Nearly 50 percent of the vapor samples had lead concentrations higher than limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).26
While researchers found heating coils were made of nickel, chromium and other metals, the source of lead remains a mystery.27 Inhaled lead can attack your brain and nervous system, as well as kidneys, liver and bones.28 Lead may stay dormant in teeth and bones for years in adults, but may be reactivated during pregnancy, poisoning a developing baby and triggering brain damage. E-cigs create a nicotine-containing aerosol, which the user inhales in the vapor.
The vapor also includes flavor chemicals and gives the user an experience similar to that of traditional cigarettes, without high levels of offensive smelling polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. However, while there is no offensive odor, which may give bystanders a false sense of security, the vapor does pollute the air with nicotine and fine particulate matter easily absorbed by bystanders through inhalation.29
Despite lower levels of nicotine pollution from e-cigs, researchers found those exposed to vapor have similar levels of cotinine, a measure of the amount of nicotine taken into the body, as those exposed to traditional secondhand cigarette smoke.30
The reason for this discrepancy remains unclear. Vapor also contains acetaldehyde and formaldehyde.31 At least one brand had 10 times more than found in traditional cigarettes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has detected the antifreeze chemical diethylene glycol in e-cig cartridges, also linked to cancer.32
According to Americans for Nonsmokers Rights, secondhand vapor may contain at least 10 chemicals identified on California's Proposition 65 list of reproductive toxins and carcinogens.33 Probably the most well-known of these is diacetyl, an artificial flavor used by popcorn makers34 to add buttery taste to microwave popcorn. The chemical is linked to respiratory damage and permanent scarring of the airway.35 In an evaluation of 51 e-cig flavors, Harvard researchers found 47 contained flavoring chemicals, including diacetyl.36
