What Are the Health Risks of E-Cigarettes?

Since this year's CCTV 3.15 Gala exposed issues related to e-cigarettes, the topic has remained under close public scrutiny. In this year's World No Tobacco Day campaign, “Reject tobacco and e-cigarettes” was also adopted as a key message, with the aim of raising public awareness of the dangers of e-cigarettes and reducing the likelihood of young people coming into contact with them.

What are the health risks of e-cigarettes?

The harms of e-cigarettes can be explained from four aspects. First, one of the main ingredients in e-cigarettes is nicotine, also known as nicotinic alkaloid. Nicotine itself is an addictive substance. In China, it is listed in the Catalog of Highly Toxic Chemicals. Excessive nicotine intake may be life-threatening, and nicotine dependence is itself a disease. Young people who use nicotine-containing vaping devices may become addicted and may ultimately go on to smoke cigarettes. In addition, nicotine can harm adolescents, infants, and others whose brains are still developing. Young people may be more susceptible to nicotine and suffer adverse effects such as learning difficulties and anxiety. This is one of the health risks associated with nicotine itself as an addictive substance.

Second, e-cigarettes release aerosol, and that aerosol contains glycol compounds, aldehydes, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, volatile organic compounds, as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, silicate particles, and more. Many of these substances are known harmful and carcinogenic compounds.

Third, e-cigarettes can cause certain diseases, including lung disease, seizures, asthma, and allergies. Long-term use increases the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and other illnesses. Animal experiments have shown that e-cigarettes can trigger lung cancer and bladder cancer. The recent cases of vaping-related lung injury in the United States also became a public health event. According to the latest information, as of October 29, nearly 1,900 cases had been reported in the United States, including 37 deaths. An investigation of nearly 800 patients who had used e-cigarettes within the three months before onset found that 34% had used only THC-containing e-cigarettes, 11% had used only nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, and some had used both. THC is the main psychoactive component of cannabis. E-cigarettes themselves can cause disease and are harmful to health.

Fourth, in order to make e-cigarettes more appealing and attract more users, manufacturers have made the devices stylish and visually attractive. At the same time, they add a wide variety of additives and flavorings to the e-liquid, such as chocolate, coffee, and fruit flavors like lemon, strawberry, and mango. These smell pleasant, much like food flavorings, and can attract young people to use them. There are tens of thousands of such additives and flavorings. However, when heated, these additives or flavorings may produce harmful substances and pose health risks. From all four of these aspects, e-cigarettes are harmful to health.