The lowdown on e-cigarettes

All e-cigarettes work basically the same way. Inside, there's a battery, a heating element, and a cartridge that holds nicotine and other liquids and flavorings.

The key difference between conventional and e-cigarettes is that e-cigarettes don’t contain tobacco. But, it isn’t just the tobacco in cigarettes that causes cancer.

Conventional cigarettes contain a big list of chemicals that are proven harmful, and e-cigarettes have some of these same chemicals. Nicotine is one of the chemicals found in both conventional and e-cigarettes. It is highly addictive and has been shown to reduce bone health.

An analysis of e-cigarettes by the FDA in 2009 found that they “contained detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals to which users could be exposed.”

E-cigarette cartridges contain diethylene glycol (a toxic compound found in antifreeze), tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic to humans, and other toxic tobacco-specific impurities.

The body’s reaction to many of the chemicals in conventional cigarette smoke causes chronic inflammation, which in turn leads to chronic diseases like bronchitis, emphysema, and heart disease.

Since e-cigarettes also contain many of the same toxic chemicals, there is no reason to believe that they will significantly reduce the risks for these diseases.

Free radicals produced by the smoke from cigarettes can damage veins and arteries and lead to heart disease. It is possible that the vapour from e-cigarettes may contain fewer free radicals because it is not smoke.

This does not mean, however, that smoking e-cigarettes is safe for your heart. The nicotine inside the cartridges is addictive. When you stop using it, you can get withdrawal symptoms including feeling irritable, depressed, restless and anxious.

By:Dr V V Ramana Prasad