FDA A 'study' from one of FDA's sponsored labs

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Stosh

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If we had pure vapor, that would be true. But those of us who use flavored liquids don't have pure vapor; evidence of this is a plain as the gunk that builds up on our coils.

Still, my sense is that the amount/concentration of particles in our vapor is insignificant compared to that in "fresh air" while walking down a street with traffic.

There, fixed it for you....:laugh:
Measuring any substance in parts per billion, or parts per trillion was not even possible in the recent past. Much of what is perceived as scientific advancement is simply being able to measure more exactly.
 

Rossum

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That's ANTZ logic right there. The gunk on the coils is not evidence of particulate matter in the vapor
And claiming that there's NO particulate matter in vapor from commercial, flavored juice is pure wishful thinking.

The question is not whether there is SOME. The question is: How much, and how that quantity compares with the amount of particulates in smoke.
 

Gato del Jugo

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And claiming that there's NO particulate matter in vapor from commercial, flavored juice is pure wishful thinking.

The question is not whether there is SOME. The question is: How much, and how that quantity compares with the amount of particulates in smoke.

You keep mentioning flavored e-liquid..


You might also want to check out the COAs for USP VG & PG...
 

Rossum

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You keep mentioning flavored e-liquid..
You might also want to check out the COAs for USP VG & PG...
Good point. My guess is that particulates would be minimized by using unflavored, and if you want to minimize them more than that, go with high-purity lab reagent grade PG and/or VG. After that, start looking at wick and coil materials too. ;)

As Stosh effectively stated, as our ability to measure tiny amounts of stuff improves, it will always be possible for "researchers" to claim that they found SOME level of harmful stuff in whatever their agenda has them testing, and to claim that there is NONE is just plain silly.
 

Gato del Jugo

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Good point. My guess is that particulates would be minimized by using unflavored, and if you want to minimize them more than that, go with high-purity lab reagent grade PG and/or VG. After that, start looking at wick and coil materials too. ;)

As Stosh effectively stated, as our ability to measure tiny amounts of stuff improves, it will always be possible for "researchers" to claim that they found SOME level of harmful stuff in whatever their agenda has them testing, and to claim that there is NONE is just plain silly.

And after a while, a former smoker who reduced his or her vaping down to part-time & only doing high-grade unflavored zero-nic might want to look into quitting altogether for 100% harm reduction.. :D


Oddly & creepily enough, apparently only about 10% the particulate matter out there in this world is man-made...
 

TomCatt

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And after a while, a former smoker who reduced his or her vaping down to part-time & only doing high-grade unflavored zero-nic might want to look into quitting altogether for 100% harm reduction.. :D


Oddly & creepily enough, apparently only about 10% the particulate matter out there in this world is man-made...

I KNEW it!! It's an invasion! Space aliens are attacking us with particulate matter!! :blink: :shock: :blink:
 

Rossum

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And after a while, a former smoker who reduced his or her vaping down to part-time & only doing high-grade unflavored zero-nic might want to look into quitting altogether for 100% harm reduction.. :D
Thanks, but I'm content with the ~99% harm reduction I've got with full-time vaping of tasty flavored juice that has a substantial dose of nic in it. :D
 

DrMA

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And claiming that there's NO particulate matter in vapor from commercial, flavored juice is pure wishful thinking.

The question is not whether there is SOME. The question is: How much, and how that quantity compares with the amount of particulates in smoke.

Outlandish and extraordinary claims like that require equally extraordinary evidence. I don't see any of that.

If you boil a pot of water with a spoonful if salt added to it, none of the salt will be present in the vapor. In fact, once all the water has boiled off, you'll find exactly a spoonful of salt on the bottom of the pot. That's how physics works and why vapor is NOT particulate matter.
 

DrMA

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There may be particulates everywhere, including suspended or dissolved in ejuice. However, once you boil it, the vapor is pure liquid, it contains exactly zero particulates. That's why my analytical chemistry lab uses distilled water to make reagent solutions.

Btw, don't patronize me on particulates. How many PM2.5 deposition models, and source apportionment studies have you done? I've been doing these as a routine course on my job for the past 8 years, and some more before that during my PhD studies.
 

Rossum

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Outlandish and extraordinary claims like that require equally extraordinary evidence. I don't see any of that.
It is not an "extraordinary claim" to say that there are SOME particulates in e-cig vapor. It's an extraordinary claim to say that there are "NO" particulates in e-cig vapor. As several people have stated, with the technology we have these nowadays, it's possible to find trace amounts of just about anything you're looking for just about anywhere you look. So the question is not IF something is there, but whether the amount that can surely be found is significant in any way.

But let's look at why you're wrong:

There may be particulates everywhere, including suspended or dissolved in ejuice. However, once you boil it, the vapor is pure liquid, it contains exactly zero particulates. That's why my analytical chemistry lab uses distilled water to make reagent solutions.
Trick question: How pure is water after being distilled just one? How many 9's? What are the contaminants and why are they there? And why is it that the more pure you want it, the more often you distill it?

TIf you boil a pot of water with a spoonful if salt added to it, none of the salt will be present in the vapor. In fact, once all the water has boiled off, you'll find exactly a spoonful of salt on the bottom of the pot. That's how physics works and why vapor is NOT particulate matter.
Yes and no.

Yes if you evaporate the water slowly from the surface without breaking its surface tension.

No if the water is boiling. Boiling involves bubbles rising and creating breaks in the surface tension of the water. That carries small droplets of water (which still have salt dissolved in them) into the rising stream of hot gasses above the boiling water. It's those small droplets of water (that never became gasses) that primarily compose the visible steam vapor at the boiling water's surface. Put some salt water in a pot. Put a known, salt-free filter medium in the steam an inch or three above it for a while. Then analyze it for salt content. Do you really think you're not going to find ANY salt?

Now, you know that hissing or sizzling sound that an atomizer makes when you fire it? That's little PG and/or VG bubbles bursting, carrying small droplets of juice (and whatever is in that juice) into the stream of vapor.

Btw, don't patronize me on particulates. How many PM2.5 deposition models, and source apportionment studies have you done? I've been doing these as a routine course on my job for the past 8 years, and some more before that during my PhD studies.
I may not have a PhD, but I do have a pretty good understanding of how stuff works in the real world. I sometimes wonder if the two are mutually exclusive. ;)
 

DrMA

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The droplets resulting from boiling bubbles bursting at the surface of the liquid will indeed contain whatever is in the original liquid. However, those droplets will be in the range of many 10s to 100s of microns in size, much larger than required to pose inhalation risk.

I'm starting to think this is an attempt to change the subject and confuse the issue. We're talking here about respirable solid particulate matter, denoted PM10 (particles less than 10um in diameter). The article linked in the op makes the extraordinary claim that vapor contains sub-micron particles, which is contrary to any known physical process involved in boiling and vaporizing any liquid.

I'll concede that hot coils have been known to sputter large droplets of unvaporized liquid, but here's where the concession stops. Those are macroscopic liquid droplets, not fine particulate matter!
 
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Katya

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If you boil a pot of water with a spoonful if salt added to it, none of the salt will be present in the vapor. In fact, once all the water has boiled off, you'll find exactly a spoonful of salt on the bottom of the pot. That's how physics works and why vapor is NOT particulate matter.

But by that logic, we wouldn't be getting any nicotine in the vapor either. Vaporizing (atomizing) is not the same as evaporation. Also, PG and VG are not water.
 
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Katya

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Read up on the allowed levels of particulate matter in "clean air", "clean water" and "healthy food"..:facepalm:
and then run screaming from the room....:laugh:

Just got home after an hour on California freeways and side streets on a hot and crowded Friday afternoon... Lots of particulate matter in the air--I can smell it. :)
 

Katya

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That's ANTZ logic right there. The gunk on the coils is not evidence of particulate matter in the vapor

Yes it is...

I often vape unflavored; there is practically no gunk deposited on the coil when you use PG or VG and nothing else. Actually, I use 100% PG or PG/VG mix to clean my coils. PG is a good solvent.

The gunk on the coil consists of unvaporized particles of flavorings, colorings, sweeteners etc. The more additives your juice has, the faster the gunk builds up.
 
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