The myth of second hand vape

p.opus;11723931 said:

I keep hearing about the perceived hazards of "second hand vape". Not only from newcomers, but from experienced vapers who should know better

So let's see if we can debunk this once and for all.

POINT ONE:
The ingredients of typical ejuice are as follows:
1. USP grade Propylene Glygol,
2. USP grade Vegetable Glycerin
3. USP grade Flavorinigs
4. Water,
5. Nicotine

Of these 5 ingredients, 3 of them have already been evaluated by the FDA as GRAS, or Generally Recognized As Safe. and one of them, H20, should go without saying. This means for the majority of people, they are safe. Don't bring allergies into the equation because it is a red herring. People are allergic to peanuts but last time I checked there are no restrictions on me on eating peanuts in public. Also for those of you who still won't let the allergy analogy die, you can read point two below. Anyway the point being unless there is some magical transformation that takes place, you can't mix ingredients that are GRAS and get a poison cocktail. It doesn't happen.

POINT TWO: The only "non-safe" ingredient, is Nicotine. So let's take a look at this danger from a practical standpoint.
Let's assume a person vapes 1ml of juice in an hour. This is high, but it makes the math easier. Let's also assume that it is 12mg/ml. which is a common "middle of the road" concentration.

If this person were to NOT absorb any of the inhaled e-juice, then the total amount of nicotine released as vapor would be 12mg.

A standard 10ftx10ftx10ft room (not large by any means) is 1000 cubic feet this is roughly 28317 liters.

So let's look before we tackle the Nicotine argument, lets tackle the "PG/VG" issue. Assume 1ml of 100% PG solution were released into the room as pure vapor. The room would contain 1ml/28317 liters, or 1ml in 28,317,000 ml This is a concentration of PG of .035 ppm. So we can put that one to bed.

12mg/28317 cubic liters equates to .4 micrograms of nicotine per liter.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine on the Nicotine Content of Vegetables, A person exposed to 1 microgram/liter of second hand smoke, would need to be exposed to that environment for 3 hours to absorb 1 microgram of nicotine.

Thus a non vaper would need to be exposed to .4 micrograms of nicotine per liter for 3 hours to absorb .4 micrograms of nicotine.

How much is .4 micrograms of nicotine? Well to put it into perspective, 59.3 grams of Potato contain .4 micrograms of nicotine.

2 oz of potato folks.

Remember folks. Were talking about 1ml of 12mg/ml e-juice, in a small 10x10x10 room with no ventilation and the assumption that none of this is absorbed by the Vaper himself.

BOTTOM LINE: A person in such a room would be exposed to .035 ppm PG vapor and would need to sit in the room for 3 hours to be exposed to the same amount of nicotine as naturally contained in 2 oz of potatoes.

And you wonder why most of us think it is an absurdity to see second hand vape as a public hazard in anyway, even in a tightly confined space?

The Nicotine Content of Vegetables - New England Journal of Medicine

QED

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