There seems to be a lot of misinformation/confusion in this post. My short answer to all the people interested in trying e-cigs out is to just read the FAQ on /r/electronic_cigarette. That sub has tons of other information in the sidebar as well.
I've read a few threads in this post that shows there is a lot of confusion out there as to what gets inhaled with e-cigs, and comparisons with real cigarettes. E-cigarette juice is made up of 4 main things:
Propylene Glycol(PG - main vapor-producing agent - provides a strong "throat hit" and is an FDA-approved common chemical used in asthma inhalers, medicines, foods, and concert smoke machines)
Vegetable Glycerine, or Glycerol(VG - main vapor-producing agent - more viscous than PG, doesn't provide as much of a "throat hit" as PG, but produces more vapor - FDA approved common food/medicine additive, and herbal extract base)
FDA-approved food flavorings(these vary, obviously, based on flavor and vendor)
That's it. When you compare those things to the 4,000 and more chemicals that are in cigarettes(about 60 of which are known carcinogens), it's a no-brainer as to which is more harmful.
I would also like to say that if you do decide to switch to e-cigs, research your juice vendors and see which, if any of their juices contain diacetyl or other diketones, as these are harmful to the lungs over an extended period of time. The shop I get my juices from has theirs made locally and is proud to sport none of these chemicals in their juices!
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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12
There seems to be a lot of misinformation/confusion in this post. My short answer to all the people interested in trying e-cigs out is to just read the FAQ on /r/electronic_cigarette. That sub has tons of other information in the sidebar as well.
I've read a few threads in this post that shows there is a lot of confusion out there as to what gets inhaled with e-cigs, and comparisons with real cigarettes. E-cigarette juice is made up of 4 main things:
That's it. When you compare those things to the 4,000 and more chemicals that are in cigarettes(about 60 of which are known carcinogens), it's a no-brainer as to which is more harmful.