How dangerous are E-cigarettes?

[heders]

I have ordered a Lava Tube e-cig to substitute my party smoking (and maybe use to cut down my snus usage as well), but I was wondering, is there any up to date conclusion on how these things are, health-wise? Some say they are dangerous and some say they are harmless. Some report breathing problems and stuff also whatever liquids they use (PG, VG, nic or no nic), and I read a guy who started to look really pale and tired (?) by PG juices.

What is your take on this?

[GregH]

You can find the most up-to-date information here:

http://www.casaa.org/Electronic_Cigarettes.html

I personally switched from smoking to vaping over three years ago with only positive outcomes: better breathing, returned senses of smell and taste, more stamina, and lower blood pressure.

[King Burger]

I have been using them for 3 months, to quit smoking. At first I loved it and still do but I developed really serious breathing problems, chest pain, fatigue, and a very sick looking face. I tried PG/VG/mix/ no-nic/ nic/ lower nic/ organic - everything you can think of because I really didn't want it to be e cigs that were the problem so I kept telling myself maybe I'm still clearing out from cigarettes, but I had to stop fooling myself and find a way to quit, so now I am trying to snus instead. Keep in mind I am not saying e-cigs are bad, I'm just saying some people may react to them badly, or have a low tolerance, but the large majority of people react well and report much better health when using them, so give them a try and see for yourself.

[Ansel]

If you are having breathing problems from them then i would smoke them like a cigar/pipe but then i guess you'd have to vape a stronger tobacco/nicotine.

[heders]

You can find the most up-to-date information here:

http://www.casaa.org/Electronic_Cigarettes.html

I personally switched from smoking to vaping over three years ago with only positive outcomes: better breathing, returned senses of smell and taste, more stamina, and lower blood pressure.

Thank you very much for the link and sharing your experience. That sounds very good; and reading on the site, gives me the impression that e-cigs are very safe to use.

I have been using them for 3 months, to quit smoking. At first I loved it and still do but I developed really serious breathing problems, chest pain, fatigue, and a very sick looking face. I tried PG/VG/mix/ no-nic/ nic/ lower nic/ organic - everything you can think of because I really didn't want it to be e cigs that were the problem so I kept telling myself maybe I'm still clearing out from cigarettes, but I had to stop fooling myself and find a way to quit, so now I am trying to snus instead. Keep in mind I am not saying e-cigs are bad, I'm just saying some people may react to them badly, or have a low tolerance, but the large majority of people react well and report much better health when using them, so give them a try and see for yourself.

Yeah, exactly what you're writing is what I've read on an e-cigarette forum (maybe it was you even). I'm really sorry to hear you got those effects, and hearing about it makes me a bit scared.

However, I must ask, how long did you smoke cigarettes before you quit? If you were a life long smoker, the symptoms (at least the breathing and chest pain ones) you are describing could have simply been your body and lungs repairing. I've heard many people report the same stuff after they have quit cigarettes. It takes a pretty long time for the body to repair itself after smoking for a very long time.

[King Burger]

I smoked about 8 years just under a pack a day of marlboro lights and then l&M lights. I'm 27, physically healthy, and didn't have these severe problems when smoking. So I can just assume it was the e-cigs. Like I said it seems more of an allergic reaction to the ecigs and not the e cigs themselves. BUT your right it could still be my lungs repairing. I really do love e-cigs so maybe I will give my lungs a few months break of inhaling anything and when I feel they have repaired themselves I may give e-cigs another shot.

[whalen]

If you have motor control problems you could lose an eye!

[stubby2]

Thank you very much for the link and sharing your experience. That sounds very good; and reading on the site, gives me the impression that e-cigs are very safe to use.


Yeah, exactly what you're writing is what I've read on an e-cigarette forum (maybe it was you even). I'm really sorry to hear you got those effects, and hearing about it makes me a bit scared.

However, I must ask, how long did you smoke cigarettes before you quit? If you were a life long smoker, the symptoms (at least the breathing and chest pain ones) you are describing could have simply been your body and lungs repairing. I've heard many people report the same stuff after they have quit cigarettes. It takes a pretty long time for the body to repair itself after smoking for a very long time.

I would take what CASAA is saying with a few grains of salt. They are essentially made up of fanboys. After looking at the issue with e-cigs, and trying them out for about 6 months, I've come to the conclusion that there are simple to many unknowns to have any confidence in the long term health effects. Many people, including me, find PG/VG to be an irritant to the lungs. After a while I started bringing up a clear mucus, and at times in good quantities. I know now this was just my body reacting to the PG/VG. I also basically felt like crap and started having breathing problems, and at the time I was using it I had been off of cigarettes for over 2 years.

The biggest unknown are the flavorings. They were never intended to be vaporized and inhaled. It has been known that some manufactures where using the same flavorings that have been associated with popcorn lung.

If you are going to use an e-cig the best thing to do is to use it like a pipe or cigar. Don't inhale

[King Burger]

stubby, did your breathing problems get better? That popcorn lung thing scared the CRAP outta me, i'm too scared to go to a doctor incase I have permanent damage and am just praying that switching to snus will allow my breathing to get better. And god knows what kinda cheap liquid I tried though recently I was trying to vape better quality stuff. I shoulda stopped as soon as I noticed breathing problems but I kept on vaping.

[Premium Parrots]

E-cigs are safe enough.......as long as you don't shove one up your bum. You should probably talk to extreme about that.

[Reynard]

I had to quit vaping, it exacerbated my asthma.

[lxskllr]

I'd stick to regular cigarettes. The occasional smoke shouldn't affect you too badly. Ecigs lack art. I don't find it appealing at all. It's just a drug delivery system, and I'd be as inclined to use a syringe as an Ecig. I definitely wouldn't replace snus with them. Snus has been used for centuries, and has been thoroughly studied. Ecigs are still new. If they were real cigs, you could have used them the whole time they've been around, and not had any negative health effects. Three decades from now is anybody's guess...

[precious007]

As far as research shows, e-cigs are just as unsafe as eating too much pork meat.

it'll probably take another 50 years to show how "SAFE" they are.

[chainsnuser]

I wouldn't worry too much. The general understanding among reasonable scientists (the ones that do not present horror-stories and unprovable numbers, but facts, data and statistics instead) is that e-cigs must be far safer than cigarettes. Also, we have billions of years of evolution behind us (or God created us in a way that our bodies are able) to deal with practically everything (toxic or not). There even are people who smoke cigarettes all their life and don't get serious problems (apart from constant coughing, short breath and a general loss of stamina that seems to be unavoidable with smoking).

What I never understood is the alleged "appeal" of e-cigs to smokers or ex-smokers. Unlike snus, these electrical e-cig-things do not appeal to me at all, and I've smoked (more or less) from when I was 8 years old to when I was 37. But we, as snusers, are probably in the minority (outside of Sweden).

So, I have no first hand knowledge about e-cigs - never tried them and probably never will. After 5 years of non-smoking (which for me equals the feeling of getting younger instead of older - no joke) I'm also very sure that I'll never smoke again.

I can only provide my experiences with snus and that is that snus has no adverse health effects at all. There may be people who get gum problems from snus. I did not - or they weren't noticeable, neither for me nor for my dentist. My teeth looked much worse (brown) when I was still smoking and I had problems with aching gums once in a month. That vanished totally when I started to use snus instead. Not to mention the nicotine. My black (tarred) lungs did no longer deliver much nicotine. Snus really was able to give me a nicotine-kick again.

So, King Burger, I just want to wish you good luck with your snus-experience. No worry about the e-cigs, they probably simply weren't for you, but as I said, there does not seem to be anything to worry about with e-cigs, health-wise.

Cheers!

[stubby2]

stubby, did your breathing problems get better? That popcorn lung thing scared the CRAP outta me, i'm too scared to go to a doctor incase I have permanent damage and am just praying that switching to snus will allow my breathing to get better. And god knows what kinda cheap liquid I tried though recently I was trying to vape better quality stuff. I shoulda stopped as soon as I noticed breathing problems but I kept on vaping.

My feeling like crap and breathing problems went away almost immediately after I quit. I'm guessing for me my body simple didn't like inhaling the PG/VG. I should note that when I was smoking I was beginning to notice some breathing issues. This after 40 years of smoking. After quitting smoking with snus over 3 years ago I it took quite some time for things to get better. Probably over a year. I kind just stopped noticing any problems. I now swim laps and bike everywhere with no issues. It can take a long time for the lungs to heal up to the point where you just don't think about it anymore. Give yourself some time for things to clear up.


The flavors to avoid are the buttery flavors. I've also heard the custard, vanilla, and likely a few others are suspect. There is a whole family of flavors related to the type that causes popcorn lung that are to be avoided. Good luck finding out what is actually in the liquid you where using, There is an amazing amount of the total volume made up of flavorings in the liquid. 10% is the norm, with some going up to 20% of total volume. There is a newer fad of double flavors. Who knows how much that has.