E-cigarettes 'contain 10 TIMES more Cancer-causing Chemicals than regular Cigarettes'

 

Health experts in Japan discovered high levels of chemicals including formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in the vapor produced by several types of e-cigarette liquid

 

This findings shows E-cigarettes contain 10 times the level of cancer-causing agents as regular tobacco.

 

The devices, which are becoming increasingly popular around the world, particularly among young people, function by heating flavored liquid, which often contains nicotine, into a vapour that is inhaled, much like traditional cigarettes but without the smoke.

 

Formaldehyde - a substance found in building materials and embalming fluids - was present at much higher levels than carcinogens found in the smoke from regular cigarettes, a health official said.

 

Acetaldehyde, which occurs naturally in small quantities but is mainly used in industrial plants to make acids and other chemicals, was also found in higher levels than in normal tobacco.

 

 According to Dr Naoki Kunugita, of the National Institute of Public Health, Japan in one brand of e-cigarette the team found more than 10 times the level of carcinogens contained in one regular cigarette.

 

When the wire which vaporises the liquid gets overheated, higher amounts of those harmful substances seem to be produced, he added.

 

Nicotine e-cigarettes, or so-called Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) are not readily available in shops as they are in the U.S. and Europe, they can be bought easily on the internet.

 

'The government is now studying the possible risks associated with them, with view to looking at how they should be regulated.'

 

In August, the World Health Organisation (WHO) called on governments to ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, warning they pose a 'serious threat' to unborn babies and young people.