Vaping Puts Potentially Cancerous Chemicals In User's Bodies - KHTS Radio

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With at least eight vape shops in Santa Clarita, and hundreds spread throughout L.A. County, many believe that the quick rise of these e-vape alternatives to traditional cigarettes is due to the fact that vaping is not a danger to health — an idea recently disputed by Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which published a study Wednesday claiming = harmful chemicals, including several that may cause cancer, are being inhaled every time somebody vapes.

“The problem is, (not being traditional cigarettes) doesn’t mean that they’re healthy,” said Berkeley Lab researcher and the study’s author, Hugo Destaillats. “Regular cigarettes are super unhealthy. E-cigarettes are just — unhealthy.”

Medical professionals in Santa Clarita say that the prevalence of vaping among young people is due to the lack of research into the e-cigarette industry.

“We don’t know (exactly) what’s in e-cigarettes,” said Rochelle Feldman, the medical director at Prima Pediatrics. “All of them (contain) known carcinogens in large amounts”

Vape companies, she said, are keeping the exact makeup of the liquid close to their chests while the market continues to grow.

However, the research by the Berkeley Lab is attempting to shed the light on the cloud of chemicals formed when vaping

“The thermal decomposition of propylene glycol and glycerin, two solvents found in most “e-liquids” (the substance that is vaporized by the e-cigarette), leads to emissions of toxic chemicals such as acrolein and formaldehyde,” according to the lab’s release about the study.

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Feldman added all vaping, even when done with non-nicotine vape juice, is still drawing the chemicals into user’s lungs.

“If they were pure water vapor they would be fine. But I don’t know of any on the market that are pure water vapor.”

A local vape shop owner responded to the findings of the study, saying that e-cigarettes are still much safer than cigarettes.

“Vaping is by no means as healthy as going to the gym,” said Shawn Oakley, owner of SCV Vape. “However if you’re a smoker, it’s much much healthier for you than traditional cigarettes.”

Oakley said studies similar to the Berkeley research usually increase the voltage in the e-cigarette coils, which vaporize the e-liquid that is smoked, beyond levels found in consumer products, which he said average out to 3.8V.

However, the Berkeley researchers study claims the carcinogens in e-cigarettes are present within consumer products.

“They found that as the voltage increased, both the amount of e-liquid consumed per puff and the vapor temperature were higher,” read the lab’s release. “In the case of acrolein and formaldehyde, the amount formed at the highest voltage of 4.8V was an order of magnitude higher than the amount at the lowest voltage of 3.3V.”

An abstract from the journal Environmental Science and Technology laid out a summary of the findings, summarizing them in simple terms.

“Harmful emissions are expected to be ubiquitous when e-cigarette vapor is present,” it read.

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