What’s Actually In An E-cigarette?

Source from:  Quartz 10/21/2019

Vapers don’t have a ton of specifics on what makes up a typical e-juice.

Juul is one of the largest e-cigarette companies on the market, and also one of the most transparent. It lists the main components of each of its pods—cartridges filled with 0.7 mL of e-juice—online. Although it omits clearly defined amounts of each ingredient, the composition of a Juul pod is pretty similar to other forms of e-juice. We’ve broken it down below:

So…are they safe?

That’s the question on everyone’s minds.

There’s little concrete data on the safety of ingredients in e-cigarettes. In the US, to legally sell vapes and e-juice, companies have to provide an ingredient list to the FDA—but they don’t have to make those lists public. As long as the ingredients are generally regarded as safe by the FDA for use in food, drugs, and cosmetics, the organization then authorizes those products for sale. It doesn’t actually approve any tobacco product, vapes included, in acknowledgement that they are all inherently risky.

“Generally regarded as safe” is an official designation which literally means “there is no evidence in the available information on [substance] that demonstrates, or suggests reasonable grounds to suspect, a hazard to the public when they are used at levels that are now current or might reasonably be expected in the future.” However, in the case of e-cigarettes, whose compounds are being inhaled instead of consumed or included in makeup, that designation may not be appropriate.

A recent review of the safety of all components in e-cigarettes states in the abstract: “We conclude that current knowledge of these effects is insufficient to determine whether the respiratory health effects of e-cigarettes are less than those of combustible tobacco products.”

Vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol mix.

Vegetable glycerin was originally a plant-based product—there are now synthetic forms—that’s been used for centuries in a huge range of products, from cosmetics to dynamite. More recently, it’s been added to “low-fat” foods to absorb water and prevent freezer burn.

Propylene glycol is found naturally in low concentrations in some foods like eggs and flavorings (no more than 15%) and shows up in some medications administered through an IV. It’s also used in polyester production, as well as some forms of antifreeze. The US military and theater groups also uses it to make smokeless smoke bombs.  Enditem