Greetings Mensah - welcome to ECF!
Kudos for your logic, critical thinking skills & common sense (and for diggin' in and reading up on the issues back to 2010). Like they say, 'these days common sense isn't necessarily very common'! (Please pardon the length & detail contained in the post - I used this reply as an opportunity to get many things I've been wantinto to share "into print")
If you haven't already found it, there's a good compilation regarding the harmful diacetyl-associated chemicals used in flavors here
The Flavor Apprentice, particularly at their
Flavorist's Corner. TFA is very good to disclose any harmful (or potentially harmful) ingredients.
Of course, no vendor commonly discloses every chemical in every flavor liquid (since those are typically considered "propietary"), but several do disclose diacetyl and diacetyl related chemicals - as well as the 'base' fluids used for extraction or stabilization (or dilution :::wink::
. Some will send more detailed information 'on request'. Some disclose the type of sweetener or if artificial colors are used.
The reason many still contain diacetyl is that the Powers That Be tell us that diacetyl is safe to be ingested orally. Since virtually all vendors make their flavors for the (stated) purpose of flavoring food, diacetyl/related chemicals will likely always be in some of the flavors offered.
There is NO EXCUSE for a flavor vendor to offer or profit from the sale of flavors that contain known-harmful flavors without disclosing that information to their buyers. It is unethical.
Anyways, i'd have thought that 3 years after such questions, it would have been sorted and not only could it be dangerous for our health, but above all for the community if any "power that be" decided to take a real look at what is happening in those companies...
You'd certainly think so, eh? But there's a very deep, common thread throughout the vaping community - "anything is better than cigarettes". And so many people start vaping (to lessen or quit "evil cigarettes"), and find themselves immersed in a community where continued nicotine addiction is actually looked upon favorably as being part of a "safe new social club" (vape meets; vape fests; personalized gear to reflect & showcase one's artistic & personal tastes; "DIY Competition' [formal/stated, or part of 'being in the in-crowd'], etc).
:::inserting 'editorial opinion piece' here:::
"Vaping these flavoring chemicals & bases is risky & dangerous? Tra-la-la... it's much better than smoking because our lungs aren't nearly as congested as when we were inhaling tar! Tra-la-la... PG is used in asthma inhalers! Tra-la-la... the authorities are only wanting a piece of the action! Tra-la-la... I need to show (or post about) my new sparkly & matching hand-blown drip tip and the taste of my latest juice/flavor find! Tra-la-la... I've just got to show (or post about) my newest power-mod & atty rebuild. Tra-la-la... I was never popular in school, but now I'm cool! Tra-la-la ...the authorities research & approve these chemicals as 'safe' to eat, and inhaling them isn't all that different! Tra-la-la... I've just GOT to order some of the latest flavors from VapeWorldExpress - just
everyone is talking about them! Tra-la-la It was such a bummer to be addicted to nicotine and have only one flavor of stinky cigs to feed my addiction - now there's hundreds of flavors & ultra cool gear - now nicotine addiction is great! Tra-la-la... Don't be such a hater - and stop being so serious! Enjoy the fun - vaping is MUCH safer than smoking!" And many of these people are 40/50+ years old!
'Not exactly the mindset that is likely to produce responsible, proactive consumers and self-regulators, eh? Nor does it indicate the type that *desire* to seek, find, and accept (the very real possibility) that their new "fun & cool" addiction just may have the same potential for harm (or worse) as the original one. (Of course, it would be very rare if someone were "all of the above", but also rare if someone was "none of the above"...or if people actually said "tra-la-la").
Besides, in the USA, it's been a VERY long time since "we the people" did much more of anything (in regards to issues like this) than just rely upon the government/other organizations to inform and protect us. And of course, history bears out that no government has ever proven to have the best interest of it's 'citizens' at it's core.
SO, we're basically on our own...but don't let it get you down! There's a LOT we can do to improve the safety profile - and still create satisfying vapes.
Vaping causes dehydration at varying levels due to both VG and PG being humectants (substances that draw water to them). PG is the stronger humectant of the two, and it has a stronger 'flavor' (causing a need for more chemical flavors). I'm not aware of any conclusive research showing the long-term effects of ingesting or inhaling VG or PG. Common sense (as well as the symptoms of systemic dehydration many experience) tells me inhaling either is not beneficial to our lungs or our body.
So we use a base of VG that's diluted at 20% (9% distilled water; 9% sterile saline and 2% pure grain alcohol) for all our juices. The saline is for added hydration AND because it enhances flavors (it's a must-have for bakery flavors & chocolates), so we do not need to use quite as much flavoring as indicated in most recipes. We're thinking we could increase the water to 14%-15% for a total dilution of 25% or more (which would mean even less humectant VG) - but we haven't tried it yet.
Following the thought-line that more water = more vapor (and that more vapor = more flavor), then adding more water might reduce the amount of flavor chemicals required further (and of course, it would also reduce the amount of VG inhaled).
We do not add/use EM as a sweetener, as it is known to dull flavors. We've found that on most recipes calling for 1-2% EM, we can easily leave it out and reduce the total flavoring...that reduction is sometimes as much as 5% of the flavor-chemicals for the recipes calling for 18-25%+ flavoring!
Anyone can easily make their own flavors (without chemicals) with 'organic' coffees, teas & tobaccos. I understand that right now you're into 'bakery', but that doesn't mean you will be forever. Coffee is another thing that makes chocolate 'pop' (in fact, many bakers add some kind of coffee to all of their chocolate creations).
Most "cream & custard" flavors 'smother' other flavors...it seems the heavier the cream/custard flavor, the more it smothers (i.e., bavarian cream & vanilla custard reduce the other flavors more than whipped cream). So we use them sparingly so we don't have to keep increasing the amounts of other flavors with them. The majority of cream flavors available for DIYing are diacetyl free.
We totally avoid the "flavors" of FA's Vape Wizard, Magic Mask, and TFA's Smooth. These are not simple 'flavor additives' - they are chemical blends that actually chemically alter the action of our natural taste receptors (temporarily). While they are approved as 'food additives', we have no idea how these chemicals that alter a natural function of our mouth/tongue might alter the action of our lungs (and other organs) when directly vaped into the bloodstream. (chemicals that alter our taste receptors in our brain? thanks but no thanks
)
Even though sucralose is approved by 'the authorities', there is
ample evidence that shows extreme toxicity. From what I understand, we can assume it's the sweetener used by the flavor producers. Hence, I opt to utilize flavors that are not overly sweet and/or add our own sweetener when a sweeter vape is desired.
We use stevia powder mixed with distilled water/VG as our sweetener. But it is NOT 'common stevia powder' (which typically has a measure of bitterness and a strange aftertaste). There are two basic chemicals that cause stevia to be sweet - one is Stevioside (it's the most common/abundant in the natural plant); and a lesser chemical, Rebaudioside A (RebA) - which is 200 times sweeter than sugar (1/4 teaspoon equals approximately one cup of processed white sugar). We use stevia powder that is 80% Rebaudioside A (RebA).
We are 'natural/organic people' (old hippes, herbalists by trade, and with both of us nearing 60 years old, we have no health issues requiring pharmaceuticals). In fact (fwiw), I haven't seen a "doctor" for almost 20 years - and neither us has had a cold or the flu for 10+ years. Hence, I do not like using ANY "unnatural white processed powders" (stevia, sucralose or 'other'). But I discern the RebA stevia powder is likely the least toxic. I am interested in trying cyclamate liquid (sold commonly in Europe/Canada as Sugar Twin liquid), but it's no longer approved/sold in the USA (the Sugar Twin liquid available in the USA is laced with saccharin). So until I can find a source in Europe or Canada, I'm using the RebA.
The potential for harm that's rarely discussed, is that inhaling these chemicals bypasses our body's "first pass metabolism". When we ingest toxins, the toxins are broken down & neutralized via the digestive system (enzymes in saliva, gastric acid, bile, pancreatic enzymes & abundant microbiota break down, neutralize partially, and prepare the substances to be taken to the liver for further processing via the hepatic portal vein that runs throughout the intestinal tract). When the substances get to the liver, the liver actually transforms these chemicals on the "first pass" through, into chemicals that it knows how to reduce further and neutralize (and/or chemicals the kidneys can process & excrete). After enough 'passes through' the liver the chemicals eventually become non-toxic and are eliminated. But if/when the liver is too overburdened (or it's impossible to neutralize the toxins completely) - those toxins are taken out of the bloodstream and stored in the tissues.
When we vape/inhale chemicals our "first pass metabolism" is completely bypassed! And the inhaled chemicals go DIRECTLY into our bloodstream, through our brain and throughout every system/organ of our body...
before being even slightly neutralized or broken down! (This of course, also happens with the chemicals in cigarettes). We are not the only people that have reported that when switching from chemical free/organic tobacco to vaping...that we feel much worse than we did when smoking.
One of the things we do to lessen the amount of systemic chemicals is add a bit of extra activated charcoal powder to our morning nutritional smoothies...and I sometimes have an extra teaspoon or two throughout the day (activated charcoal powder is tasteless and 'goes down easily' when mixed with juice).
In closing, I must admit our own guilt at being susceptible to the very enjoyable "fun & games" of vaping! We switched to vaping in order to quit smoking, free ourselves of nicotine addiction, and further enhance our health & well-being. We could have easily been satisfied with just a handful of DIY juices, but we now have hundreds of flavor bottles and have spent countless hours 'perfecting blends' - hours that could have been spent in far more productive/healthy activities. Instead of continuing our goal to be free of addiction, we fundamentally 'lied to ourselves' (we "need" to have a multitude of 'satisifying vapes' - when all we needed to satisfy our addiction previously was one foul-tasting flavor). Hmmm, will it be easier or more difficult to give up vaping than to quit smoking? We now have all these wonderful concoctions & flavor-blends in which we've invested so much of our energy; we no longer have the motivation of ridicule, stinking, nicotine/smoke stained house, and general incovenience & societal pressure.
Only time (and our own motivation) will tell. We started vaping at 18mg at the end of April and we're now down to 12mg. It's definitely time for the next cut!
Vape Wisely!
