There are lots of
things to consider when it comes to electronic smokeless mechanisms. In fact,
researchers are still learning new things ever day. While some people like to
assume everything about the electronic version is as negative as the
traditional tobacco version, this may not be true.
It seems vapers
are getting as bad a name as smokers in many cases. Without all the facts in
place yet, this hardly seems fair. There are, however, many people and
organizations who recognize this. For many people, using these devices is a way
to attempt to kick the traditional tobacco habit. So treating it with as much
hatred seems counterproductive.
Some of the areas
that raise concern include topics such as the effect of vaping on the lungs and
the body in general and secondhand vapor and air quality in relation to use.
Obviously people who use these devices and those who are going to be near them
want to know how their indoor air quality could be affected.
So What’s the
Verdict?
The problem is
still that research that is being done is not enough. So what one research
group’s findings are can’t yet be tested or debated by another group that could
have different results. There are plenty of cases of “experts” giving their
opinion on what they think about e-cigs and a person’s health would be, but
then it gets written up as factual news.
At this time
there is still just too little information to be sure what someone finds or
says is true or accurate, whether its positive or negative. Here is an example
of just such an incident:
The Fraunhofer
Wilhelm-Klauditz Institute located in Germany decided to test how these
smokeless devices might impact indoor air quality. Researchers compared
traditional tobacco cigarettes and electronic versions. For each type they took
six “drags” and then compared the results of the air quality.
The results
indicated that even vapor pollutes the air; researchers still saw levels of
Formaldehyde, which leads to the conclusion that these devices should not be
permitted indoors. Of course if this were 100% accurate that would be an
acceptable conclusion. What actually may be the truth is that the three main
compounds detected that would qualify electronic cigs to be banned can, in
truth, be found anywhere.
Some studies done
seem to show that your own breath contains amounts of the three compounds. And
no, the studies didn’t show that it was only trace amounts of the compounds
detected in human breath. These detectable levels are the same that one might
also find in everything from paint to wood glue.
So what this
German study showed was that the three main compounds were found in smaller
amounts that traditional tobacco smoke results for air quality. But because it
showed up at all the scientists made the claim that these two different types
of cigarettes may as well be the same exact thing.
What all
researchers and scientists want to make clear is that there are no safe amount
of carcinogens when it comes to the air we breathe. Unfortunately much of this
is found in the air we breathe anyway. It comes from building materials to
cosmetics to even our much needed computers. So unless we intend to ban all of
these items as well, it seems pointless to put all the blame on smokeless
devices.
So What Does It
All Mean?
Studies and
research obviously need to continue. The problem is that there is already a
bias against these smokeless devices. So anything positive that comes up tends
to get swept under the rug. Of course anything remotely negative gets hyped up,
blown out of proportion and very often “fluffed” up for more added negativity.
Basically when
someone needs to make a decision about how they intend to view these new
versions of cigarettes, they will pass by 10 fairly positive reviews or news
stories to find the one negative one and believe it. They will let their
decision be made based on the one negative story. The truth is negative news is
what draws attention anyway.
No one reads the
news for the happy go-lucky articles. They want the hard hitting facts, which
in everyone’s mind equals negative. Instead of thinking there really isn’t much
you can do, you should be aware of some things you can do:
Collect articles
you find that have positive research results.
Share these pieces
through social networking or by sending them directly to people you know.
Make it a point
to write to people who print negative reviews to politely ask them what their
feedback is based on.
Speak up yourself
and get actively involved online and in person by taking a stand against the
misinformation out there.
Most importantly,
stay informed yourself and do further research to prove what you find, whether
it is positive or negative.
Article Credit: http://www.electroniccigarette.net
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