French magazine article on e-cig tests

[Bill Godshall]

The full text (in French) of the article in 60 Million Consumers magazine has been posted at:
dossier 60 millions de consomateurs ecig : Articles / Médias

It would be appreciated if someone could translate (or figure out how to translate) the article into English (including the chart of constituents found in tested e-cigs), and make available, or at least send to me at smokefree@compuserve.com so I can forward to others.

The magazine's website contained two short commentaries about their article and its findings at
Pas si inoffensive, la cigarette électronique ! / Articles / Actualités - Le site du magazine 60 millions de Consommateurs
Cigarette électronique : les 7 questions que vous vous posez / Articles / Actualités - Le site du magazine 60 millions de Consommateurs

But Dr. Farsalinos says the magazine misrepresented its test findings, and claims they found similarly low trace levels of constituents in vapor as other studies have found.
A new “study” on chemical analysis of e-cigarette: nothing new but huge negative publicity and intimidation
A new

I haven't seen any other detailed analysis of the French magazine's claims and test findings, and I suspect that other experts haven't done so because they (like me) cannot read French (or haven't seen the full text of the magazine article).

In order to objectively assess the magazine's claims, we need to know/understand what test results the magazine actually found, as well as their testing methods (as lab tests results can be deeply flawed if the testing method doesn't closely replicate human use of e-cigarettes and/or if the testing equipment was contaminated by other things).

 

[AgentAnia]

Bill, your first link takes me to the comments page, not the article. Can only find the original article. Could you check your link and post one to the full text article, please?

EDIT: I see on the comments page you linked to that someone has scanned the article and posted the page images. Is this what you need translated? (It's almost impossible to read, but I'm going to try enlarging the image and see what I can make out.) But please, Bill, confirm that this is indeed the article you need translated.

 

[the_vape_nerd]

I'm writing an article in the International Journal of Military Blunders on the Maginot Line.

 

[northhar]

First off I am only able to get a Jpeg version of the original article. I can read french but not that good at translating.. I asked a co-worker who translates at work to translate a few important paragraphs. I hope someone who is more up to the task can translate the whole article.

This is the french version as appeared.. then our translation of it..

Surtout, pour determiner avec precision la composition des "e-vapeurs", nous n'avons pa eu recours a une machine a fumer, comme c'est generalement le cas, car cette methode ne permet pas de recueillir de facon optimalle les substances liberees. Nous avons elabore une installation capable de simuler le functionnement d'une cigarette electranique et de recueillir l'ensemble des compose emis, tout en limitant les possibillites de condensation de ces substances sur les parois des tubes de l'installation.

Especially, to determine with precision the components of the e-vapors, we did not use a smoke machine as it is usually the case, because this method does not allow you to collect on an optimum basis the freed substances. We have built a set-up that was capable to simulate the functioning of an e-cigarette and to collect the totality of the components emitted, while restricting the possibilities of condensation of these substances on the sides of the tubes of the set-up.


This part to me shows that they were overheating the device in this case an e-roll..Thus confirming the flawed testing..They also compared some findings to conventional cigarettes even though they admitted to not using the same the device that would have been used to measure such a substance in a conventional cigarette.

The french part and then our translation..

Autre substance inquietante que nous avans decelee: l;acroleine, une molecule tres toxique par l'halation et par ingestion. Dans notre etude, elle est emise en quantites tres significatives avec la cigarette electronique E-roll, avec ou sans nicotine dans le liquide, et a des tenturs qui depassent meme parfois celle que l'on peut measurer dans la fumee de certaines cigarette conventionnelles.

We discovered another worrisome substance acroline, a very toxic molecule by inhalation or ingestion.
In our study, this molecule is emitted in significant quantity with the e-cigarette E-roll, with or without nicotine in the liquid and at levels sometimes that is superior to what you can measure in the smoke of certain conventional cigarettes.


I hope this helps somewhat..

 

[AgentAnia]

Those are excellent translations, northhar! I've started translating the whole thing, but it's hard going because of the image quality (and these old eyes!). Have emailed a family member who is fully fluent in French to see if he can help but I haven't heard back yet, and unfortunately I have to leave shortly for some appointments. Wil keep going as time permits today until somebody tells me to stop!

 

[Bill Godshall]

I've received several e-mails from Dr. Farsalinos regarding the French magazine article.

I received that pdf file yesterday.
I am not fluent in french, however i could not find any results (in numbers) of the chemicals tested (besides the numbers on nicotine, PG and VG).
The comment i uploaded on ecigarette-research website was based on a second article of this magazine, where they reported the levels of acrolein, acetaldehyde and formaldehyde (they reported the range-lowest and highest level found). This article was uploaded on their website as a response to several questions they received from readers, and can be found here.

and

Still they provide little information about the methodology. Some more information about the methodology can be found here:
http://modinfrance.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/le-protocole-de-60-millions-de-consommateurs/
I preferred to not discuss the methodology problems in detail, because still their results were favorable for the e-cigarette.
However, we should emphasize that between puffs they were aspirating air from the laboratory enviroment to the experimental equipment, at a rate of 950ml/minute. Therefore, the results that they report are not the numbers present in 15 puffs of e-cigarette vapor but are levels of chemicals present in 15 puffs PLUS 7 liters of laboratory air. We know that some of these chemicals are also present in the enviroment. However minute the quantities may be, they are ADDED to the sample, therefore the results are not merely from the e-cigarette vapour. This is a major problem with the methodology.

So it appears that the original French magazine article didn't provide their test results (nor a detailed explanation of their research methods), and that the magazine subsequently posted (in a Q&A on its webpage at http://www.60millions-mag.com/actua...ique_nbsp_les_7_questions_que_vous_vous_posez
the range of test results for several constituents and a less than detailed description of their research methods after some reporters and others began asking for more details from the magazine.

What I find amazing is that any news media would restate claims made by a magazine editor/reporter about the magazine's unpublished and non peer reviewed study (which still isn't available).

Please note that some of the weblinks in Farsalinos' e-mails didn't appear here when I reposted.

 

[AgentAnia]

Now I'm confused as to what, if anything, you need translated. It appears that Dr. Farsalinos has a copy of the French report and is already sending you explanations and comments, so what do you need from me? Standing by...

 

[Bill Godshall]

AgentAnia wrote:

EDIT: I see on the comments page you linked to that someone has scanned the article and posted the page images. Is this what you need translated? (It's almost impossible to read, but I'm going to try enlarging the image and see what I can make out.) But please, Bill, confirm that this is indeed the article you need translated.

Those posted JPG files are only version of the original article I've seen.
Not only can I not read French, but I'd have difficulty reading it in English (as its very tiny print even when enlargened).

AgentAnia wrote

Now I'm confused as to what, if anything, you need translated. It appears that Dr. Farsalinos has a copy of the French report and is already sending you explanations and comments, so what do you need from me? Standing by...

Since Dr. Farsalinos isn't fluent in French, and since his critique is the only one so far, I was just trying to find out if the article provided any detailed information about the test results or the testing methods.

Also, Farsalinos sent me those e-mails (that I posted above) after I had already posted this thread, and Farsalinos wrote his original critique of the two postings on the Magazine's website before he saw the full text of the article (which he subsequently stated provided no further details).

 

[AgentAnia]

AgentAnia wrote:



Those posted JPG files are only version of the original article I've seen.
Not only can I not read French, but I'd have difficulty reading it in English (as its very tiny print even when enlargened).

So do you want me to translate it?

 

[AgentAnia]

AgentAnia wrote:



Those posted JPG files are only version of the original article I've seen.
Not only can I not read French, but I'd have difficulty reading it in English (as its very tiny print even when enlargened).

AgentAnia wrote



Since Dr. Farsalinos isn't fluent in French, and since his critique is the only one so far, I was just trying to find out if the article provided any detailed information about the test results or the testing methods.

Also, Farsalinos sent me those e-mails (that I posted above) after I had already posted this thread, and Farsalinos wrote his original critique of the two postings on the Magazine's website before he saw the full text of the article (which he subsequently stated provided no further details).

As I understand you, you do not need a full translation of the article as posted in images on the French forum. If I'm wrong, let me know and I'll continue the translation.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Farsalinos exposes false and misleading claims about e-cigarettes by French magazine
'Panic over e-cigarettes can harm more than help' - The Local


Per AgentAnia's inquiry, I just want to ensure that what I've/we've been told about the full text article in the French magazine is accurate (i.e. that the article misrepresented the Magazine's subsequently released data findings on their e-cig tests, that it contained no constituent data from the tests, and that it didn't provide any more details about the testing method).

Since I cannot read French, I have no idea what the article actually said (or didn't say). Although I tend to agree with Farsalinos' explanations, he's not fluent in French either, and I'd hate for a translation error to result in the French magazine retaining its credibility just because some of us (who cannot speak or read French) misinterpreted what the French magazine actually stated.

Regarding the half dozen or more threads that were created here in the Media General News section (and perhaps in other ECF sections) by folks posting fear mongering news articles about the French magazine's claims, I urge folks to stop posting in those threads because doing so only moves those ECF threads to the top of Google searches. Perhaps it would be best if a moderator closed those threads.

What ever happened to the break-the-weblink rule for news article that benefit e-cigarette prohibitionists? Seems like everyone forgot about that rule as soon as the French magazine story broke.

And everybody, please stop posting new threads with titles like "Study finds e-cigarettes more hazardous than cigarettes" and "E-cigarettes cause cancer", as those titles of ECF threads (which are immediately picked up by searches) only help promote the views and policies of e-cigarette prohibitionists.

 

[AgentAnia]

I decided yesterday, for my own edification, to continue translating the article. Unfortunately, after the first page, there was more text that I couldn't read than that I could, especially on the tables. This at the best image enhancement I was able to achieve on my computer. So I can't even read it to determine what they claim or if they're accurate.

If anyone can produce a readable copy, I'd be happy to give it a go. (Perhaps one of our members in Europe could procure a hard copy of the magazine...? and scan it...? Is the magazine sold anywhere in the US?)

 

[DC2]

I decided yesterday, for my own edification, to continue translating the article. Unfortunately, after the first page, there was more text that I couldn't read than that I could, especially on the tables. This at the best image enhancement I was able to achieve on my computer. So I can't even read it to determine what they claim or if they're accurate.

If anyone can produce a readable copy, I'd be happy to give it a go. (Perhaps one of our members in Europe could procure a hard copy of the magazine...? and scan it...? Is the magazine sold anywhere in the US?)

If you can give me a direct link to what you want to produce a readable copy from, I'll give it a go.

 

[AgentAnia]

If you can give me a direct link to what you want to produce a readable copy from, I'll give it a go.

Sending you a PM.

 

[kristin]

If anyone runs across a pro-vaping organization press release refuting this French "study," please share it on this thread so we can send it to family, friends & associates, and distribute it through our blogs, Facebook pages, etc.

CASAA published this commentary on Wednesday for exactly that purpose - feel free to share from this link:
CASAA: French e-cigarette study, media misrepresent facts

*******************************************
French e-cigarette study, media misrepresent facts

An article published Monday in The Daily Mail announced "E-cigarettes are as harmful as cigarettes and could cause cancer, claims study." The article stated that a French consumer magazine, 60 Millions Consommateurs (60 Million Consumers), had branded the devices as 'far from the harmless gadgets they're sold as by manufacturers'. Soon, news outlets from all over the world were reporting that "E-cigarettes may be carcinogenic" and "E-cigarettes as harmful as cigarettes."

According to the 60 Millions Consommateurs, which is published by the National Consumers' Institute (a government-funded organization somewhat similar to Consumer Reports in the U.S.), their researchers tested 10 e-cigarettes. This "report" comes after the French government announced in May this year its intent to ban electronic cigarette use in public places, which has outraged French e-cigarette consumers and sellers.

After the news broke, Clive Bates, former head of ASH-UK and a tobacco harm reduction advocate, announced on his blog that he had issued a complaint about the Daily Mail article to the Press Complaints Commission .

"There are many flaws in the Mail article, mostly shoddy health journalism and lack of balance or proportion, and life is too short to go into them all," Bates wrote in a post titled "Lazy, stupid, wrong – the Mail can’t stop itself."

The web version of the article has since been re-titled "E-cigarettes contain chemicals that make some 'as harmful as normal tobacco'."

On Tuesday, the magazine posted another article with a few more details about its test results, which allowed experts to partially evaluate the findings.

MSN.com reported an interview with Drexel University Professor Igor Burstyn, who told them he is skeptical of the study. The article was titled "Rumor: E-cigarettes are as harmful as the real things," and it concluded that the rumor was "unconfirmed" and that "the bulk of research says they're much safer."

According to the MSN article:

Dr. Burstyn recently published the largest, most comprehensive assessment of research on E-cigarette safety released thus far. (Peering through the mist: What does the chemistry of contaminants in electronic cigarettes tell us about health risks?) That meant looking at dozens of studies done all over the world involving more than 9,000 subjects. His conclusion: “Current data do not indicate that exposures to vapors from contaminants in electronic cigarettes warrant a concern.” A conclusion supported by other health researchers in Palgrave Macmillan, a journal of public health policy.​

After reviewing all available information, the Scientific Director for The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives, Dr. Carl V Phillips, surmised that "it is almost certain that they used faulty methods, overheating in particular, because that is what produces high levels of acrolein. In previous studies, high levels of formaldehyde have been identified as lab errors, not output from the e-cigarettes. As for the metals, Burstyn has already explained that without knowing what molecular form they were in, the information is useless."

"This is why real scientific publications include a methods section," he continued. "We basically have no idea what they did, though it is pretty clear their methods were faulty to the point of this being almost completely junk. The 'almost' refers to the fact that perhaps high levels of acetaldehyde are created by certain flavorings. But, again, since we have no idea what they tested or how, we can make no sense of what was reported."

Dr. Phillips concluded, "this is more of a marketing con than a scientific study."

"The same chemicals were tested in 12 brands of e-cigarettes in a study by Goniewicz and coworkers that was published earlier this year," added Dr. Konstantinos Farsalinos, a researcher at Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens-Greece, in a commentary on Ecigarette-Research.com. "So, nothing new was tested in the French study. More importantly, the results of the French study are almost identical to those of Goniewicz."

"I cannot explain why worldwide media refer to this study as if it is the most important discovery about e-cigarettes," he wrote.

In the MSN article, Burstyn said his professional research has even informed his personal life, as he told them that he's worked hard to convince his wife to quit traditional cigarettes in favor of the newer e-versions. "Smoking a regular cigarette is like running on the highway in flip-flops," he said. "E-cigs is taking a taxi."