Does nicotine cause cancer at all?

[Jorge22]

Ok. My question, even if it has been posed hundreds of times before, I don't know, is rather simple and understandably important. Even though ecig companies claim there are no carcinogens in eliquids and vaping poses no cancer threat, I've read of nicotine containing TSNA's or acting like some "cancer development's helper". What can unbiased experts tell me about that, please?

 

[wrigleyvillain]

Uh I'm no expert or even a scientist but I'm pretty sure the answer is no. There are actually some health benefits to nicotine, mainly for the brain.

 

[JWebb]

I think it is equivalent to Caffeine, that is what my doctor tells me, in effects.

 

[evilfrog]

The Nicotine in our liquid does contain trace amounts of TSNAs. Orders of magnitude less then tobacco cigarettes... it's at comparable levels to the patch and nicorette.
Not enough to worry about.

 

[Vocalek]

Evilfrog is correct. Dr. Murray Laugesen of Health New Zealand measured 8 nanograms (parts per billion) in a cartridge. The same quantity is found in a Nicotine Patch. Nicotine Gum (4 mg dose) contains 2 nanograms per piece. A pack of cigarette can contain over 100,000 nanograms of Tobacco-specific Nitrosamines (TSNAs.) After the FDA came out with their press release claiming that they found "carcinogens", NJOY hired an outside lab to conduct testing, and then hired an outside expert to review the results. The researchers found no cancer-causing nitrosamines in NJOY's vapor. http://www.casaa.org/files/Study_TSNAs_in_NJOY_Vapor.pdf

The closest any research has come to tying nicotine to cancer is that some research on a cellular level (not clinical studies on humans) showed that nicotine could promote the growth of cells in an existing tumor, but not trigger cancer where it did not exist before. Nicotine Promotes Growth Of Tumors Already Established By Tobacco Carcinogens

On the other hand, Nicotine does not promote lung cancer growth in mouse models, study finds