A Better Alternative to Smoking?

My roommate is a fan of E-cigarettes. So immediately when we started this topic I perked up out of curiosity (not that I was not fully attentive prior to this topic, of course). So I thought to myself, maybe if I do some research on the topic I can be more quick witted in our constant battle of the unhealthy hazards not only to the smoker, but to second hand people as well.

In the study done by Francis, Offermann, and Ashrae they re-did an awesome study where they test 12 different brands of E-cigarettes. They measure the chemicals that are inhaled by the smoker with a machine. The machine gives them curtain percentages of what exactly is being inhaled. They then interpret this data to better understand the health hazards for the smoker. But the interesting part to me was not what they found with the smoker, but those people inhaling the “water vapor,” (2014).

They found that what these companies were claiming as “water vapor” was in fact not only water molecules bond to carbon dioxide. There were also traces of glycols, nicotine, formaldehyde, carcinogenic, nitrosamines, and metals such as cadmium, lead, and nickel (p.38, 2014). To me, these just sound like a bunch of nonsense words made up to scare me, but I used my better judgment and read further into this article. After doing so, I saw that the majority of these chemicals in large quantities could easily cause health downfall (2014).

So . . . Francis, Offermann, and Ashrae’s advice? To make sure that the abuser know that this is still a harmful habit not only to themselves, but also, potentially, to the people around them. Although there is less hazards because of the absence of tobacco, it doesn’t take away from the fact that all in all, the abuser is smoking themselves into some future health difficulties (2014).

Abstract

Offermann, Francis (Bud) J,P.E., C.I.H. (2014). The hazards of E-cigarettes. ASHRAE Journal, 56(6), 38-39,42,44. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1540081943?accountid=12085