I don't want to accuse anyone but personally I think they are, although for most of them, not intentionally.
A few considerations:
For vapers, it's very tempting to ignore the potential dangers:
Most vapers were former smokers, including myself. For most of us it is extremely tempting to jump on something that satisfies our craving for nicotine and is very similar to smoking. I was a smoker (2 packs a day of Camels) for 46 years and like most smokers I've tried all alternative methods for quitting, without success. I quit smoking after the fist puff of vapor and never thought about cigarettes again (it's been 6 months now). It's very tempting for me to try to ignore any argument that would point to potential dangers of vaping.
Those who claim that vaping is safe might very well be protecting financial interests of their own:
One argument I often read about those pointing to the potential dangers of vaping is that they are protecting interest of big tobacco or pharmaceutical (patches, gums, etc) companies. That may very well be true but let's not forget that although the vaping industry represent only a small fraction of revenues compared to the 2 mentioned above, the vaping industry is still cashing billions and that amount is growing exponentially (estimates vary from 100% to 400% yearly growth). Are we forgetting that those who claim so loudly that vaping is so much safer than smoking might very well be protecting their own financial interests?
The fact that most or all ingredients found in e-liquids are considered safe to eat doesn't mean that they're safe to vape:
First there's the fact that ingesting PG or VG or any of the thousands of chemicals contained in flavoring and/or coloring with food or medication is NOT the same as ingesting them through vapor. As we all know heating something sometimes modifies its chemical structure, can create chemical interactions and/or modifications of the components involved. In other words it's not because it's safe to eat something that it's safe to inhale the same thing that has been submitted to extreme heat and vaporized.
And then of course there's the question of pure quantity. My wife is asthmatic and inhales (non heated) PG with her medication. But let's face it, quantities involved are hugely different. I vape more or less 10ml/day. Can I assume that because the few micro mls of PG contained in asthma medication have been deemed safe I can with impunity ingest million of times that quantity when vaping?
And then there is the fact that amongst some of the thousand of chemicals involved in the composition of e-liquids a few ARE extremely dangerous:
If you're vaping and find my post ridiculous, please at least read this thread: XXX.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/534508-flavors-may-contain-diacetyl-there-really-many.html (Flavors that may contain Diacetyl, are there really this many?) Forgive the XXX but I'm not allowed to post links. Please replace with www
Long term research is non-existent:
We do have a few researches about short term effects of vaping and they do seem to indicate, for most of them at least, that vaping is much safer than smoking. But of course we have absolutely no long term researches due to the simple fact that vaping hasn't been around for that long. In other words, me and other vapers are guinea pigs and our cadavers, when we die, are hopefully going to provide data for future generations of vapers.
Does it mean we should panic and stop vaping?
Of course that's for each of us to decide. Personally, I consider that if we think that we are daily ingesting GMO's, breathing polluted air, eating transformed food containing millions of chemicals, vaping is probably not much worse than all that stuff.
But blindly believing that vaping is safe and that as ex-smokers, we can have our cake and eat it too is a bit unrealistic.
And also let's try to keep in mind that those defending vaping so loudly may have strong financial motivations to do so. Pointing the finger at tobacco and pharmaceutical companies doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have financial interests of your own to protect.
A few considerations:
For vapers, it's very tempting to ignore the potential dangers:
Most vapers were former smokers, including myself. For most of us it is extremely tempting to jump on something that satisfies our craving for nicotine and is very similar to smoking. I was a smoker (2 packs a day of Camels) for 46 years and like most smokers I've tried all alternative methods for quitting, without success. I quit smoking after the fist puff of vapor and never thought about cigarettes again (it's been 6 months now). It's very tempting for me to try to ignore any argument that would point to potential dangers of vaping.
Those who claim that vaping is safe might very well be protecting financial interests of their own:
One argument I often read about those pointing to the potential dangers of vaping is that they are protecting interest of big tobacco or pharmaceutical (patches, gums, etc) companies. That may very well be true but let's not forget that although the vaping industry represent only a small fraction of revenues compared to the 2 mentioned above, the vaping industry is still cashing billions and that amount is growing exponentially (estimates vary from 100% to 400% yearly growth). Are we forgetting that those who claim so loudly that vaping is so much safer than smoking might very well be protecting their own financial interests?
The fact that most or all ingredients found in e-liquids are considered safe to eat doesn't mean that they're safe to vape:
First there's the fact that ingesting PG or VG or any of the thousands of chemicals contained in flavoring and/or coloring with food or medication is NOT the same as ingesting them through vapor. As we all know heating something sometimes modifies its chemical structure, can create chemical interactions and/or modifications of the components involved. In other words it's not because it's safe to eat something that it's safe to inhale the same thing that has been submitted to extreme heat and vaporized.
And then of course there's the question of pure quantity. My wife is asthmatic and inhales (non heated) PG with her medication. But let's face it, quantities involved are hugely different. I vape more or less 10ml/day. Can I assume that because the few micro mls of PG contained in asthma medication have been deemed safe I can with impunity ingest million of times that quantity when vaping?
And then there is the fact that amongst some of the thousand of chemicals involved in the composition of e-liquids a few ARE extremely dangerous:
If you're vaping and find my post ridiculous, please at least read this thread: XXX.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/534508-flavors-may-contain-diacetyl-there-really-many.html (Flavors that may contain Diacetyl, are there really this many?) Forgive the XXX but I'm not allowed to post links. Please replace with www
Long term research is non-existent:
We do have a few researches about short term effects of vaping and they do seem to indicate, for most of them at least, that vaping is much safer than smoking. But of course we have absolutely no long term researches due to the simple fact that vaping hasn't been around for that long. In other words, me and other vapers are guinea pigs and our cadavers, when we die, are hopefully going to provide data for future generations of vapers.
Does it mean we should panic and stop vaping?
Of course that's for each of us to decide. Personally, I consider that if we think that we are daily ingesting GMO's, breathing polluted air, eating transformed food containing millions of chemicals, vaping is probably not much worse than all that stuff.
But blindly believing that vaping is safe and that as ex-smokers, we can have our cake and eat it too is a bit unrealistic.
And also let's try to keep in mind that those defending vaping so loudly may have strong financial motivations to do so. Pointing the finger at tobacco and pharmaceutical companies doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have financial interests of your own to protect.
