Washington, March 15 (TNS): Recently at Medical News Today, we have looked at a number of studies that assessed the potential harms and benefits of e-cigarettes. Now, we report on a new study that suggests that use of these devices might be more harmful than beneficial.
Electronic cigarettes, also called e-cigarettes, are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid solution, which may or may not include nicotine, into a vapor that is inhaled or vaped by the user.
The devices have become a popular alternative to conventional cigarettes in recent years, due in part to the belief that they present fewer health risks than regular ones. The use of e-cigarettes is growing rapidly in the United States. However, this surge in popularity is controversial not only due to the questions posed by researchers over whether or not vaping is harmful, but also because of concerns that teenagers may be using e-cigarettes as a gateway into regular smoking.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have banned the sale of e-cigarettes to individuals under the age of 18. But more scientific evidence is needed to inform the public debate about the effects of e-cigarettes at population level. A recent study reported by MNT found that teenagers who had used e-cigarettes had three times the amount of toxic compounds in their bodies than teenagers who had never vaped. And, another recent scientific paper that we covered suggests that the heating coils in e-cigarettes may contribute to these high levels of toxic compounds.
The authors of that paper found that small concentrations of toxic metals were present in the liquid solutions in e-cigarette refilling dispensers, but that these levels were much higher in solutions that had already been heated within e-cigarettes.
