Courtesy - pr1.org
Warnings issued by big tobacco and big pharma about the dangers of propylene glycol are not grounded in scientific reality or backed by scientific research. After a study in mice at the University of Chicago’s Billings Hospital in 1942, it was thought that propylene glycol when inhaled might cause such diseases as pneumonia and other illnesses affecting the respiratory system. To determine long term effects followup studies on money and other animals were conducted. This larger study produced results that showed no ill effects from propylene glycol in the lungs.
The FDA and tobacco companies were quick to cry “danger’ and point to an ingredient that has been judged safe to use for many years. There is primary truth that is totally ignored in the warnings. We know smoking almost anything is safer than smoking tobacco.
In e-cigarettes propylene glycol is used to dilute the nicotine and provide a solution that can be vaporized and deliver nicotine to the e-smoker. PG is a commonly used food additive and is the substance used in fog machines. It also appears on the label of ingredients of many of the food products we routinely buy.
It is interesting that the many cautions about propylene glycol found online are not found on scientific or medical sites or referenced as articles in scientific journals. The dire warnings are on conspiracy blogs, natural healing sites and on the sites of anti-smoking groups. Several entries claim that propylene glycol is antifreeze. No. Not true. That would be ethylene glycol.
A tremendous amount of information can be found on the internet but it’s important to know who you are listening to. PG is used in baby wipes and even the FDA is unlikely to approve a dangerous product for use on infants. The best electronic cigarettes deliver only a very small amount of PG to the e-smoker. Some e-liquids use glycerol rather than PG as a base but propylene glycol is the most used ingredient in e-liquid solutions.
Consumers are more conscious of food additives and harmful ingredients in the foods they eat than every before. Looking at the ingredients on products you buy is a smart thing to do. We know to look carefully at labels when buying products low in sugar. Ingredients such as sucrose and fructose and various types of “syrup” may be listed and each of those ingredients is sugar.
The saccharin scare thirty years ago is a valuable example of the folly of acting on incomplete information and drawing incorrect conclusions. The FDA banned saccharine which was a very popular sweetener used as an additive in many packaged foods and. The FDA stated saccharin had caused cancer in mice and panic ensued. Companies lost a lot of money in changing the ingredients in their products and the public tossed out boxes of Sweet and Low which was a popular saccharin product.
To induce cancer in mice who ingested saccharin researchers had provided extremely high doses of the ingredient. The scientific “proof” offered by the FDA was rejected by the scientific community. The affected mice were given a daily dose of saccharin that could only be ingested by a human drinking 400 cans of diet cola a day for many months. Saccharin is totally available to the marketplace today.
PG is necessary as an ingredient in e-cigarettes to deliver the vapor smokers want. There is no scientific proof that e-cigarettes containing propylene glycol pose a danger to the smoker. That is the truth no matter how much effort big tobacco puts into discrediting a competing product.
Warnings issued by big tobacco and big pharma about the dangers of propylene glycol are not grounded in scientific reality or backed by scientific research. After a study in mice at the University of Chicago’s Billings Hospital in 1942, it was thought that propylene glycol when inhaled might cause such diseases as pneumonia and other illnesses affecting the respiratory system. To determine long term effects followup studies on money and other animals were conducted. This larger study produced results that showed no ill effects from propylene glycol in the lungs.
The FDA and tobacco companies were quick to cry “danger’ and point to an ingredient that has been judged safe to use for many years. There is primary truth that is totally ignored in the warnings. We know smoking almost anything is safer than smoking tobacco.
In e-cigarettes propylene glycol is used to dilute the nicotine and provide a solution that can be vaporized and deliver nicotine to the e-smoker. PG is a commonly used food additive and is the substance used in fog machines. It also appears on the label of ingredients of many of the food products we routinely buy.
It is interesting that the many cautions about propylene glycol found online are not found on scientific or medical sites or referenced as articles in scientific journals. The dire warnings are on conspiracy blogs, natural healing sites and on the sites of anti-smoking groups. Several entries claim that propylene glycol is antifreeze. No. Not true. That would be ethylene glycol.
A tremendous amount of information can be found on the internet but it’s important to know who you are listening to. PG is used in baby wipes and even the FDA is unlikely to approve a dangerous product for use on infants. The best electronic cigarettes deliver only a very small amount of PG to the e-smoker. Some e-liquids use glycerol rather than PG as a base but propylene glycol is the most used ingredient in e-liquid solutions.
Consumers are more conscious of food additives and harmful ingredients in the foods they eat than every before. Looking at the ingredients on products you buy is a smart thing to do. We know to look carefully at labels when buying products low in sugar. Ingredients such as sucrose and fructose and various types of “syrup” may be listed and each of those ingredients is sugar.
The saccharin scare thirty years ago is a valuable example of the folly of acting on incomplete information and drawing incorrect conclusions. The FDA banned saccharine which was a very popular sweetener used as an additive in many packaged foods and. The FDA stated saccharin had caused cancer in mice and panic ensued. Companies lost a lot of money in changing the ingredients in their products and the public tossed out boxes of Sweet and Low which was a popular saccharin product.
To induce cancer in mice who ingested saccharin researchers had provided extremely high doses of the ingredient. The scientific “proof” offered by the FDA was rejected by the scientific community. The affected mice were given a daily dose of saccharin that could only be ingested by a human drinking 400 cans of diet cola a day for many months. Saccharin is totally available to the marketplace today.
PG is necessary as an ingredient in e-cigarettes to deliver the vapor smokers want. There is no scientific proof that e-cigarettes containing propylene glycol pose a danger to the smoker. That is the truth no matter how much effort big tobacco puts into discrediting a competing product.
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