The electronic cigarette really entered the vision of China’s mainstream media in early 2019. At the Chatchat conference in January, Luo Yonghao served as a platform for Flu’s electronic cigarette. His confidence was based on the research report of the British Ministry of Public Health on “95% harm reduction”.

 

The report released in 2015 bases the evaluation coordinate system on the comparison with traditional cigarettes.

 

It has long been proved that traditional cigarettes are harmful to human health. Traditional cigarettes produce nicotine, tar, formaldehyde, benzene, lead, propylene glycol, carbon dioxide and other chemical components and known carcinogens.

 

Electronic cigarettes contain nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin, spices and other substances, not all of which are directly harmful. Propylene glycol and glycerin are used as organic solvents in the field of food or skin care products, and there is no problem in their normal use within the scope of corresponding industry or product standards. Essence and spice are similar, which can be divided into essence for daily use, food, tobacco and other purposes,
It is legal and compliant to use within the allowable content range.

 

From the perspective of composition, the harmful components of electronic cigarettes are far less than cigarettes. The consensus reached in the industry is that the electronic cigarette will not produce tar because of the adoption of atomization technology, which eliminates the burning link, and tar is considered to be the culprit of lung cancer.

 

According to the report of the World Health Organization, based on the harmful ingredients in the products, traditional cigarettes>IQOS type heating incombustible tobacco products>Juul type electronic nicotine delivery system. Juul electronic nicotine delivery system is known as electronic cigarette.

 

But this does not mean that the electronic cigarette is completely harmless. At the same time, the World Health Organization pointed out that although the specific risk level related to e-cigarettes has not been finally estimated, e-cigarettes are undoubtedly harmful and should be regulated.

 

The focus of foreign publicity of domestic e-cigarette entrepreneurs is that e-cigarettes can reduce harm compared with cigarettes. Their logic is that electronic cigarettes are not harmless, but the harm is much smaller than cigarettes, so in comparison, electronic cigarettes are the best choice.

 

For electronic cigarette, the process of demonstrating its harmfulness is a process of turning the unknown into the known, which requires time inspection. A statement issued by the Scottish National Health Service and signed by the Royal Academy of Medicine in Edinburgh previously said: “It may take many years before the medical community has enough evidence to make an absolute judgment on the advantages and disadvantages of electronic cigarettes.”

 

Where does “harm” come from?

If the production process of electronic cigarette is disassembled, we can have a glimpse of where the industry is in chaos.

 

First of all, in terms of material selection at the source, whether the materials are safe and compliant largely determines the content of harmful substances in electronic cigarettes. “If very poor materials are used, it is likely that new harmful substances will be produced during the heating process, and the content of formaldehyde and carbon monoxide may exceed the standard.

 

Secondly, in terms of safety testing, some e-cigarette brands do not have the ability of self testing or set up self testing links. Untested electronic cigarette products entered the market, aggravating the chaos of the industry. “If you say that electronic cigarettes are harmful, it depends on what kind of electronic cigarettes you detect, like milk powder. Aren’t some poisonous?” A founder of electronic cigarette brand asked.

 

In addition, in terms of ingredient addition, unqualified additives will also produce new harmful substances. Specifically, in the production link, the manufacturer can decide the type and amount of additives; In the use phase, users can add DIY to open electronic cigarettes, which increases the uncertainty of the substances produced by electronic cigarettes. (For electronic cigarette products under the new regulations, these will not become a headache.)

 

Can additives be fatal?

In view of the frequent cases of electronic cigarette related lung disease in the United States, the industry has targeted additives. Due to the lack of uniform specifications before, a variety of additives were born.

 

Spices, medlar, ginseng, cordyceps, betelnut, marijuana… all kinds of strange substances have been added to the oil by some electronic cigarette manufacturers, and even have been crowned with a health stunt. However, most manufacturers do not know or care what new harmful substances will be produced when these substances are mixed and heated.

 

The electronic cigarette is heated by the device to atomize the tobacco oil into smoke, and the smokers inhale nicotine into the lungs to achieve the effect of relieving addiction. Before the electronic cigarette, this atomization technology was widely used in the medical industry. At present, Macwell, the largest electronic cigarette manufacturer in China, used to be mainly engaged in medical atomization and marijuana atomization. Therefore, there is a natural connection between electronic cigarettes and substances such as cannabis.

 

When these additives, especially marijuana, are combined with electronic cigarettes, risks follow.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that electronic cigarettes used by patients with electronic cigarette related lung diseases contain cannabis ingredients, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products. Through investigation, the New York Department of Health laboratory found that these electronic cigarettes containing cannabis contain very high vitamin E acetate, which is an additive. (This is THC added after the user purchased the open electronic cigarette. this require the cbd oil they bought without THC.you only can buy the cbd disposable vape without THC.)

 

At present, cannabis is strictly controlled in China, but the policy in the United States is relatively loose, and there are more extensive open electronic cigarette users in the United States, which facilitates the flow of cannabis products into electronic cigarettes.
Cannabis smoke causes death not because of marijuana, but because of its solubility and antioxidation, it adds lipid components, and inhalation leads to lipoid pneumonia.

 

In addition, there are not a few manufacturers that add vitamin C and collagen to the oil. Most of these additives appear in the form of energy bars in foreign markets. In fact, vitamin C will be decomposed when the temperature reaches 80 ℃, while the atomization temperature of electronic smoke is more than 200 ℃, and collagen macromolecules cannot be atomized in electronic smoke.

 

Crazy additives have increased the risk of harm to human health of electronic cigarettes, and also made this new product face greater public doubts.

 

How harmful is nicotine?
Another focus of controversy is nicotine.

Nicotine is the core component of tobacco. Some people define it as a highly toxic chemical. “If 20 mg is inhaled into the human body, it is enough to cause death to an adult. For some sensitive people, 5 mg can cause death.” He believes that electronic cigarettes concentrate nicotine and can be inhaled into the human body once, so it is very dangerous.

 

Some people believe that nicotine will not be fully consumed by the human body, and the metabolism will consume most of it, with little direct effect on the human body.
A tobacco oil smoke expert said that nicotine has the potential to become a drug, but the reason why tobacco did not become a drug is that the human body has a certain immunity to nicotine. “When nicotine intake reaches a certain level, the human body will have nausea and dizziness, which will prevent continued intake of nicotine.”

 

The biggest controversy about nicotine is its addiction.

Nicotine is addictive. The birth of electronic cigarette form and the application of nicotine salt technology make nicotine intake more efficient and convenient, and retain the taste and experience of real cigarettes. Therefore, electronic cigarette is called “nicotine delivery device”. The birth of this simple and crude nicotine intake mode has raised new doubts.

 

The World Health Organization believes that nicotine will have a long-term impact on the developing brain, and there is a risk of nicotine addiction. This may lead to more harmful forms of nicotine or tobacco consumption, especially among young people.

 

Like a stepping stone, nicotine helps those who have never been exposed to tobacco and opens the door to the tobacco world. In this group, both non-smokers and possibly minors are included.

Nicotine causes addiction. Teenagers who smoke electronic cigarettes will become tobacco smokers in the future. From this perspective, the indirect harm caused by nicotine is long-term and irreversible.

 

Is it a lie that electronic cigarettes replace cigarettes?

Because of nicotine addiction, the target population of electronic cigarettes is divided into two categories by the industry, one is traditional smokers, and the other is new smokers (transformed from non smokers).

In the public publicity, all electronic cigarette brands declared that the products were only for traditional smokers, not for non smokers, nor for minors. Previously, the main selling point of each brand was alternative smoking, and a few brands had advocated that they could help quit smoking.

 

However, one of the biggest doubts facing e-cigarettes is that this new nicotine delivery device may attract non-smokers and even minors to smoke.

 

First, in terms of taste. Almost all domestic e-cigarette brands have introduced fruit flavors in addition to the classic tobacco flavors, represented by the most popular flavors such as mung beans and watermelons. Many traditional smokers said that tobacco taste is what smokers need, and fruit taste is not just what they need. This means that electronic cigarettes will likely attract non-smokers to try vaping.

 

Secondly, in terms of publicity. There are quite a number of electronic cigarette brands in China, which are packaged into fashionable and cool styles and loved by young people. Electronic cigarettes have even become a minority culture, popular among young users.

An electronic cigarette entrepreneur revealed that the curiosity about new tastes and new consumption methods really made many young people who did not smoke try electronic cigarettes.

 

“The name is to help smokers get a better taste and experience, but if all the fruit flavors are cut off, many new smokers will be difficult to attract and transform, in fact, they will lose the huge market of non smokers. There is original sin in front of interests.” Said the entrepreneur.

 

Juul, the number one player of electronic cigarettes, is facing the biggest accusation in the United States of expanding the market to young people. In September this year, President Trump of the United States called on the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration of the United States) to ban all non tobacco flavored electronic cigarettes. Alex Azar, the Secretary of Public Health Services of the United States, said that five million young people in the United States use fruit flavored electronic cigarettes, and FDA will soon issue.

 

Regulatory guidelines for removing fruit flavored e-cigarettes from the market.

 

Some people believe that the conversion of electronic cigarettes to smokers is a matter of proportion. Because the early technology of the electronic cigarette industry is not mature, nicotine is very noisy, and the user experience is not as good as that of traditional cigarettes. With the improvement of technology, the reduction degree of e-cigarettes to cigarettes will continue to improve, so the conversion ratio of traditional smokers will also continue to increase.

 

Another problem brought about by electronic cigarettes is that users may increase their use of tobacco. A number of users of electronic cigarettes said that their smoking volume increased significantly after using electronic cigarettes. Because “it is too convenient to use, and there is no scene limit”.

 

In recent years, the strong support for the electronic cigarette industry mainly comes from the UK.

The UK supports electronic cigarettes and encourages traditional smokers to convert to electronic cigarettes. There are 9 million smokers in the UK, more than one third of whom are e-cigarettes..

 

However,  the UK has established a sound electronic cigarette regulatory system and strictly controlled the nicotine content. Since 2016, the UK has been complying with the EU regulations on tobacco products. This regulation restricts advertising and strictly limits the maximum nicotine concentration in electronic cigarette liquid to 20mg/mL.

Ann McNeill, a professor of tobacco addiction at the Institute of Psychiatric Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, said in an interview that the sale of tobacco oil with suspicious additives has been banned in the British market, and the advertising norms related to electronic cigarettes are stricter than those in the United States. (Now the United States, China and other countries have stipulated that the production of fruit flavored e-cigarettes is not allowed, and the nicotine content has also been controlled. I believe that e-cigarettes will become more standardized and healthier.)

 

what’s your opinion about e-cigarettes？and what’s your forcast about the development of ecig industry？welcome discuss to me about it：starstonevapor.sally@gmail.com.thanks for your reading.