Is it true that the liquid used to vape is bad for you? Here’s what studies and researches on vaping say.
More and more often we hear that the electronic cigarette is bad and that it is wrong to practice vaping.
Let’s start by clarifying some doubts. The electronic cigarette itself is just a tool to generate vapor and it is the vapor that is inhaled during the vape.
In general, any substance that we commonly inhale can cause damage to health, just think that the air we normally breathe is polluted. That said, let’s think about the traditional cigarette, the harm it causes to those who smoke and those around them, increasing the likelihood of developing lung cancer, for example.
A lot of research on the electronic cigarette has been done and the answers produced by the researchers are in favor of this new smoking experience because it has been established that the e-cig contains less harmful substances for the body.
How is the electronic cigarette composed
The elements that make up the electronic cigarette are various:
- Drip Tip (mouthpiece)
- Atomizer (in which the vape liquid is present)
- Filter
- Resistance or coil
- A material in contact with resistance
- Vaporizer
- Rechargeable battery
The element to be examined in the vape is the liquid inserted into the electronic device via the atomizer. It is only this that may or may not be harmful to the body.
Are vape liquids really bad?
The most appropriate answer depends on what the liquid contains.
We have really arrived at the heart of the matter: the e-cig liquid.
This element consists of a few components:
- Vegetable glycerin
- Propylene glycol
- Water
- Aromas
Let’s go through them together:
Water is the element we all know, the one used for vaping is not even ordinary tap water, but demineralized water that can be purchased in pharmacies and is also used in food preparations.
Liquids for electronic cigarettes contain between 5% and 10% water. Sometimes even this is not present (it is therefore clear how unlikely it is the fear of some that “the electronic cigarette brings water into the lungs”).
Vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol are used in pharmaceuticals to make cosmetics and medicines, such as cough syrups.
There is therefore no doubt about the nature of these first three elements present, they are all non-harmful substances and which commonly come into contact with our body during everyday life.
The only element that can be doubtful are the aromas because there is no adequate information to explain what they contain.
There are numerous brands of aromas that characterize the taste. Depending on the mix of different aromas, infinite flavors of liquid can be obtained. You should know that the main producers of flavors, contained in liquids for electronic cigarettes, produce essences that are commonly used in the kitchen. The use of the same aroma for food and for vaping must suggest that their composition is harmless. The essences are diluted in a propylene glycol base with a very high concentration of aroma and therefore not vape by itself. This is why in the creation of a liquid a certain percentage of aromas must be dispersed in a neutral base. So the aroma is made up of food substances.
The nicotine
And here we take the opportunity to introduce the last element that makes up the liquid of the electronic cigarette: nicotine.
It is important to know that nicotine is the only harmful element in a liquid. Nicotine is addictive and makes the brain perceive feelings of well-being. These sensations, however, are short-lived: within thirty minutes the level of nicotine present in the body begins to decrease and the brain commands the impulse to have to introduce more into the body. The positive sensations given by the intake of nicotine are a widespread well-being in the body, you feel more energetic and active. Attention also seems to improve, it is easier to concentrate and has a calming effect on stress.
These are only superficial effects because, in reality, nicotine increases the heart rate and pressure, placing the entire cardio-vascular system under great stress. This is what happens if you inhale nicotine, both with the traditional cigarette and with the electronic cigarette.
Despite this, the body is used to assimilating nicotine, but also to dispose of it quickly. It takes, in fact, on average 2 days (to dispose of the products contained in the traditional cigarette, it takes about 20 years!).
Vape liquids are safe products
Finally, we remind you that the European regulations have determined guidelines for companies producing liquids for electronic cigarettes. Companies that must comply with these laws produce compliant and certified products.
Difference between traditional cigarette and electronic cigarette
The big difference between the classic cigarette and the liquid to vape is that with e-liquids there is only one harmful substance, with the normal cigarette there are thousands of chemicals of which about forty are carcinogenic.
The poisons and carcinogenic substances of the traditional cigarette are mainly due to the combustion of tobacco and paper. Burning these two elements generates a mutation of the molecules that become a sort of tar and other components that are very dangerous for human health and carcinogenic.
Having said that, we can sum up the degree of toxicity of the liquids of the electronic cigarette. A harmful element compared to all those contained in traditional cigarettes, it makes e-liquid much less dangerous.
Furthermore, it must be considered that nicotine does not necessarily have to be vaped. In fact, in the electronic cigarette you can choose to have a nicotine concentration, a quantity that can be decreased or even eliminated.
Studies on the toxicity level of the vape liquids
The studies that have been carried out on liquids have not shown that in the long term they are not dangerous (it is also true that time is not yet sufficient to collect testimonies to this effect), but research has shown that liquids for the cig are non-toxic.
All the alarms about the quantity of metal dissolved in the hot liquid and then introduced into the body through the steam have also been denied. No quantities of metal were found in the liquid of the e-cig to create alarmism. The data was not relevant.
The study on the transformation of vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol with heat also gave very reassuring results. The two substances undergo alterations only when they reach extremely high levels of heat. These levels are not reachable by vape devices; in addition, the alteration of the molecules would also modify the taste of the liquid itself, making it very bad and therefore not vaporizable.
Cloud chasing
A particular vaping practice called cloud chasing has been subjected to studies.
This particular practice allows to produce very high quantities of steam, real thick and full clouds. To generate these quantities of vapor, you need particular types of specific elements such as big batteries and atomizers that have the ability to heat up a lot.
Reaching these temperatures is rather useless because a power of much less than 40/50 watts is enough to vape. In fact, it vapes great at an average of 12/13 watts. So a good combination of atomizer and battery allows you to be satisfied and appreciate an excellent aromatic yield for most liquids. Furthermore, each aroma has its ideal temperature and it is not strange that the same liquid, made up of several aromas, enhances some flavors at lower temperatures and others at slightly higher temperatures.
