Dr. Mercola's article on E-cigarettes

[weebitty]

I receive Dr. Mercola everyday and this had some news about e-cigarettes in them so I thought I would copy and paste part of it here. I don't think I can post a link so maybe copy and pasting part of the article here will work. I guess there isn't anything safe anymore. I was thinking of going to e-cigarettes to get off of analogs but it seems the manufacturers are making them almost as dangerous?

[h=2]Use of E-Cigarettes Rises Amid Safety Concerns[/h]

While rates of cigarette smoking are declining in the US, e-cigarette use is on the rise. It’s estimated that 30 percent of smokers, and 8 percent of the general population, have tried them, [6]
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn6
along with a concerning number of youth.
For instance, a National Institute on Drug Abuse survey showed that nearly 9 percent of 8th graders, 16 percent of 10th graders and 17 percent of 12th graders had used e-cigarettes during the previous month.
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn7
[7]
In youth, e-cigarette use now exceeds smoking tobacco cigarettes,
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn8
[8]
and most users (both youth and adult) are unaware that this is not a “safe” alternative.
The latest generation of e-cigarettes has been designed to increase nicotine delivery and contain chemosensory agents (including flavors like chocolate and watermelon) that may provide cues for reward along with “transmembrane signaling.” The combined effect may be increased cravings and addiction. As reported in Medscape:
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn9"]
[9]

“Generation 1 e-cigarettes had a small battery and erratic aerosol format; generation 2 devices, such as Blu and njoy, doubled the battery size and increased the amount of venous nicotine deposition; and generation 3 devices, such as Vuse, use microchips ‘to control aerosol to ensure small particles in fine cloud for deep lung deposition.’”
​

In a presentation at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) 25th Annual Meeting, Gregory N. Connolly, DMD, MPH, from Northeastern University, explained that the flavor agents in e-cigarettes do not simply make them taste better:
articles .mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn10
[10]
"These are not benign compounds that just make things taste better. If you can modulate delivery of nicotine, it increases craving because of the ingrained behavior associated with reward and reinforcement."[/I]
There has been some debate that e-cigarettes are a useful smoking cessation tool because they’re at least less dangerous than smoking regular cigarettes in the interim. This is debatable, however, as is their usefulness to quit smoking. A study published in late 2014 showed that smokers who used e-cigarettes daily were more likely to quit tobacco, but those who used them intermittently were six times less likely to quit smoking tobacco in the following year.
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn11
[11]
There’s also data showing that ex-smokers, some of whom hadn’t smoked for five years, were taking up (or relapsing) with e-cigarettes
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn12
[12]
– which is quite risky when you look at the health effects involved.
​

[h=2]High Levels of Toxins Found in E-Cigarettes[/h]

In the latest blow to e-cigarette safety, researchers commissioned by Japan’s Health Ministry found toxic chemicals including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in the vapor produced by several types of e-cigarettes. In at least one brand, more than 10 times the level of carcinogens contained in a regular cigarette was detected.
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn13
13
Separate research has shown e-cigarettes emitted higher levels of certain metals, including nickel, zinc and silver, than tobacco cigarettes.
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn14
[14]
“Some of these metals are extremely toxic even in very low amounts,” the study’s lead researcher noted,
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn15
[15]
adding in a statement:
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn16
16

“The metal particles likely come from the cartridge of the e-cigarette devices themselves – which opens up the possibility that better manufacturing standards for the devices could reduce the quantity of metals in the smoke. Studies of this kind are necessary for implementing effective regulatory measures. E-cigarettes are so new, there just isn’t much research available on them yet.”
​

Even the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has detected a potentially deadly antifreeze chemical called diethylene glycol in an electronic cigarette cartridge,
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn17
[17]
along with tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are linked to cancer. According to Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights (ANR), secondhand e-cigarette aerosol contains at least 10 chemicals identified on California's Proposition 65 list of carcinogens and reproductive toxins, listed in the table below.

articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn18
[18]

Acetaldehyde	Benzene
Cadmium	Formaldehyde
Isoprene	Lead
Nickel	Nicotine
N-Nitrosonornicotine	Toluene

[h=2]Health Risks of Vaping Revealed[/h]

As more smokers turn to vaping (the ‘new’ word used to describe e-cigarette use), the industry is expected to reach $3.5 billion in 2015 (more than twice the $1.7 billion estimated for 2013).
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn19
[19]
Yet, it could be that the newer generation e-cigs, which run hotter to dispense more flavor and nicotine, could be even risker than older models. The Japanese study mentioned above found that higher amounts of harmful substances seem to be produced when the wire that vaporizes the liquid becomes overheated.
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn20
[20]
Likewise, researchers from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute found that a solvent used in e-cigarette liquid flavors transforms into cancer-causing chemicals, and the biggest risks came from the hotter second-generation models.
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn21"]21[/URL][/SUP]
As Science News reported:
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn22
[22]

“Because early e-cigarettes didn’t deliver the same powerful hit of nicotine that burning tobacco does, engineers developed second-generation technology that allows users to increase an e-cigarette’s voltage, and thus temperature, to atomize more nicotine per puff. But the higher temperatures also can trigger a thermal breakdown of the solvents, producing the [cancer-causing] carbonyls… If users of second-generation e-cigarettes maximize the power on their devices while using vaping liquids containing a solvent mix of glycerin and propylene glycol, formaldehyde levels can reach that found in tobacco smoke…”
​

In addition, a study found that people exhale less nitric oxide after vaping, which suggests it may cause lung inflammation.
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn23
[23]
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn24
[24]
And, the cartridge liquid for e-cigarettes contains highly concentrated liquid nicotine, most at levels between 1.8 percent and 2.4 percent. These concentrations can cause sickness, but rarely death, in children, but higher concentrations, like 10 percent or 7.2 percent, are widely available on the Internet. At those levels, a lethal dose for an adult would be less than one tablespoon.
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/14/effects-smoking-cigarettes.aspx?e_cid=20150114Z1_DNL_NonBuyer_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20150114Z1-NonBuyer&et_cid=DM64724&et_rid=805503741#_edn25
[25]
Already, increased
articles .mercola .com/sites/articles/archive/2014/05/28/e-cigarette-poisoning.aspx
poisonings from e-cigarettes are being reported
​

 

[NorthOfAtlanta]

Sounds like this was written using every debunked ANTZ study from the last 3-5 years and is one fine example of serious FUD.

Go to CASAA - The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association and check under the Fact & Science heading for the real story.

 

[Hitmetwice]

Yeah, I guess we all should put down our "vaporizers" and get right back smoking the cancer sticks.
It's trash like this that will keep smokers smoking until the day they die. For shame on this "doctor"
for just regurgitating the old party line.

After this display of irresponsibility I wouldn't take his advice on anything.
He has proved himself ignorant on the subject while promoting himself as an authority on it.

Just disregard the talking heads and vape. It's been 3 yrs for me and I feel better than ever.
If I was still smoking with my emphysema I probably wouldn't be able to breathe on my own today
after almost 45 years of smoking.

In the end though the choices we make are our own, for better or for worse.

 

[WhiteHighlights]

I didn't know who Dr Mercola was so I did a quick google search, wiki starts with:

Joseph M. Mercola is an alternative medicine proponent, osteopathic physician, and web entrepreneur, who markets a variety of controversial dietary supplements and medical devices through his website,

and it goes down hill from there.. He may make Dr Oz look good

Weebitty, go look for the rest of the stories. Do not be afraid. Dr Mercola has cherry picked data and ignored what did not support his position. Sadly, many such 'experts' also ignore any perspective on the risk/benefit scale (fear everything, ignore benefits seems to be their motto). Are e-cigs 100% safe? no, nothing is (air has heavy metals aak!). Are e-cigs safeR than cigarettes? IMHO, absolutely. CASAA has a lot of info and I've learned even more by reading the threads here. Welcome!

 

[Mr. Buttflakes]

If there were no e-cigs teens would smoke cancer sticks stickily instead, as many of us probably started out. A new smoker could very easily be turned off from vaping just as easily as a first puff off a smoke as they cough their lungs up. Teens will experiment, that's how we learn growing up. 4 years of vaping and it's been a godsend to my lungs and I have been a smoker of cigs for 15 years prior.

 

[weebitty]

Thanks so much for your replies. My husband has been afraid for me to go to e-cigs because of the batteries exploding and knocking out teeth and also causing fires. I don't know that much about them but that is why I come here to find out information from people who have been there and done that!! I remember seeing articles about causing fires and knocking out teeth. Does anyone know anything about that and what brand they were? It was probably an off brand maybe? There is nothing out there safe anymore. I would imagine that they have changed formula to get more people addicted? That does sound reasonable for some companies?

 

[Mr. Buttflakes]

Thanks so much for your replies. My husband has been afraid for me to go to e-cigs because of the batteries exploding and knocking out teeth and also causing fires. I don't know that much about them but that is why I come here to find out information from people who have been there and done that!! I remember seeing articles about causing fires and knocking out teeth. Does anyone know anything about that and what brand they were? It was probably an off brand maybe? There is nothing out there safe anymore. I would imagine that they have changed formula to get more people addicted? That does sound reasonable for some companies?

I think that's very rare, but have heard of it happening. Just never leave batteries unattended while charging and make sure there's no leakage from them.

 

[Mr. Buttflakes]

One's more likely to burn their house down falling asleep with a cig than a battery exploding imo

 

[Niten13]

Thanks so much for your replies. My husband has been afraid for me to go to e-cigs because of the batteries exploding and knocking out teeth and also causing fires. I don't know that much about them but that is why I come here to find out information from people who have been there and done that!! I remember seeing articles about causing fires and knocking out teeth. Does anyone know anything about that and what brand they were? It was probably an off brand maybe? There is nothing out there safe anymore. I would imagine that they have changed formula to get more people addicted? That does sound reasonable for some companies?

Most of these horror stories you here are from people using Mechanical Mods. They do not have any wiring or protection, so its up to the user to know Battery Safety and Ohms Law. People who ignore amperage limits and build super low and do not pay any attention to what they are doing run this risk.

Still use my Mechanical everyday! I am still here and have never had a battery come close to venting! Please don't buy in to the FEAR.
Everyone here on ECF is very knowledgeable and will answer any questions you have

 

[weebitty]

You guys are great thanks. I wouldn't alter anything about an e-cig because I don't know anything about them. So whatever I would buy would have to have the safety features built in for me. What do you look for? You mention amps and battery safety. What is a good product to trust? I know you all are very well informed. So I trust your judgement on products. I am not into rebuilding or anything like that. Just stock e-cigs with as little maintaince as possible for a newby. I don't care if they look like a analog or not I am not hung up looks. I know most of them are made in China and that kind of bothers me but I guess that is the main ones nowadays.

 

[Jake6731]

Weebitty, it appears you have lots of very good questions that most folks new to vaping also have. The absolute best way to get started is to visit a local vape shop. In most cases, the folks in the shop are your best source of information. I did see one located in Grants Pass. I have no information or knowledge about this vendor, only it appears that they are close to you. Please don't focus on all the bad publicity and hype. Millions of former smokers are vaping every day and are not blowing themselves up in record numbers
Switching to vaping is many times safer than continuing smoking lit tobacco.

 

[Krashman Von Stinkputin]

Thanks so much for your replies. My husband has been afraid for me to go to e-cigs because of the batteries exploding and knocking out teeth and also causing fires. I don't know that much about them but that is why I come here to find out information from people who have been there and done that!! I remember seeing articles about causing fires and knocking out teeth. Does anyone know anything about that and what brand they were? It was probably an off brand maybe? There is nothing out there safe anymore. I would imagine that they have changed formula to get more people addicted? That does sound reasonable for some companies?

Dr. Mercola even quotes: " E-cigarettes are so new, there just isn’t much research available on them yet.”

Whenever you see "studies" published like this or in the major media. Ask yourself Who it is being negatively impacted by ecigs:

1) Big Tobacco companies. They have been under siege for 40+ years and although had the most to gain by pioneering a safer nicotine product were missing in action in the development of ecigs. Only in the last year have they brought products to market (or are buying up companies). Why? Because they have known for years most cigarette smokers actually HATE their product but couldn't quit. Now they are quitting in droves. In 2013, the ecig industry was $ 2 Billion dollars and rising. That is lost business to Big Tobacco and they're fighting back

2) Big Pharmaceutical companies. The available FDA approved Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT's--Nicoderm, Nicorette, Chantix) cost billions of dollars to develop, test, market, and obtain FDA approval. And they don't really work. At best their effectiveness is in the single digits to the teens (percentage-wise)
Ecigs sidestepped the need for FDA approval as a medicine in the court system. (See FDA vs Sottera) and they are proving to be more effective than all these expensive revenue-generating medicines combined. So Pharmaceutical companies are fighting back.

3) Anti Smoking Nazis--ANTZ--well they hate smoking and anything that looks like smoke. They also hate nicotine. They use any and all arguments at their disposal, especially "the children" (which is why they fight flavors). They manage to do this while they drink their fruity flavored, caffeinated beverages.

Vaping finds itself in an extremely unique position. The result of the FDA's lawsuit against ecigs that I referenced above is that LEGALLY the current status of ecigs is that there are NO FEDERAL REGULATIONS on ecigs but one: Manufacturers cannot call their ecig a "smoking cessation product". (That would categorize them as a medicine, which requires FDA approval.), States and municipalities have rushed to pass "no sale to minors" and "public vaping" statutes.

That's it
Anyone can make an ecig and sell it.
Anyone can make liquid and sell it.

All the vested interests are losing money. Big Tobacco's losing money. Big Pharma's losing money. The ANTZ are scared of the possibility that one can "smoke" in a safer way that "solves" most of things they've been .....ing about.

And think of all the tax revenue being lost.....

No wonder all you hear is how bad ecigs are.

 

[weebitty]

Thanks we have a few e-cigs shops around but I think I read on here or somewhere that they are not that knowledgeable and have just set up shop because it is a business. I haven't been to one so can't say from experience. But I will go to one of my local ones and see what they have to say. They are all fairly new in my area so can't trust their knowledge skills kind of brings to mind the blind leading the blind? LOL

 

[rolygate]

Thanks for quoting all that stuff, it is hilarious. It's taken directly from the "Please slip me the big bucks now, Mr Pharma" playbook.

The biggest pile of complete ignorance and propaganda you'll see for a while - it out-glantzes Glantz, and that takes some doing...

Full of hilarious errors and deliberate lies. Also the new science of 'transmembrane signaling' to 'increase the addictive potential' of something that cannot create dependence without tobacco. Next we'll see transmembrane signaling used to make carrots addictive. Chocolate flavour carrots anyone? No - I don't blame you - they are so addictive.

Don't know what all these pratts will be talking about when half of smokers have switched, and the smoking-related mortality and morbidity rates also halve. The latest pharma-funded gravy train, no doubt.

And bejasus it took a while to break all those links to steaming piles of, er, hogwash.

Just a small suggestion, but maybe when you see the name mercola, mentally replace it with something that conjures up an image of Goebbels, standing in a pile of hot cowdung, with a hand inverted backwards waiting for a wad of cash from his pal Pharma behind him.

 

[Hitmetwice]

Hehehehe,rofl. Funny guy that rolygate, Thanks needed that!

 

[mcclintock]

Those who want to stop or severally slow down vaping merely need do some scientifically valid research that shows it's dangerous.

Meanwhile, where are all these anti-vapers coming from???!???!?!1??

 

[AndriaD]

They manage to do this while they drink their fruity flavored, caffeinated beverages.

And don't forget the fruity-flavored BOOZE!!!!!!!!!

Andria

 

[Hitmetwice]

And don't forget the fruity-flavored BOOZE!!!!!!!!!

Andria

Yeah almost any kid could easily drink a quart of that cherry vodka stuff straight, in a sitting.
That would not be pretty.

 

[Rat2chat2]

FDA GENERATED QUAKERY, for entertainment purposes only and a jingle of coins in someone's pocket.

I prefer reliable over rubbish anyday but thanks for the giggle. . .

 

[DadEh]

This is utter wibble!!!
If you are addicted to juice and hardware and want to save money OH AND shorten your lives by 7 mins per annalog, then feel free to return.