Healthy alternative to cigarettes or dangerous self-deception and entry into addiction for young people? E-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular with both smokers and non-smokers. They are also advertised as a way to stop smoking. Everything about the functionality, ingredients and risks of using electronic cigarettes.
- Liquids containing flavors and / or nicotine are vaporized and inhaled in an e-cigarette.
An e-cigarette – also called “vaporizer” or “vape” – is a small, battery-operated device that is used as an alternative to the classic cigarette. Inside, a liquid mixed with nicotine and aromas is heated and the resulting vapor is inhaled. In 2017 there were around 3.7 million consumers of e-cigarettes in Germany, some of them use the electrical alternative alternating with classic tobacco cigarettes.
How do e-cigarettes work?
Unlike a classic cigarette, no tobacco is burned in an e-cigarette, but a liquid (the so-called liquid) is vaporized. That is why electric cigarettes are often referred to as “vapers” or “vape” (English for “vaping”). The device required for this consists of a mouthpiece, a rechargeable battery, an electric evaporator, and a small tank in which the liquid, including Vape Pods, is located. The liquid is atomized and inhaled by the user at the push of a button or by pulling the mouthpiece. In many models, a small LED lights up at the front end to simulate the smoldering of a tobacco cigarette
Difference between e-cigarette, e-shisha and tobacco heater
E-shishas are primarily optically different from electric cigarettes and generally do not use nicotine. The name is derived from the hookah because the often fruity or sweet taste of the liquids used in it reminds of the tobacco of shisha. Electric hookahs are designed as single-use products and are thrown away after use.
In contrast to e-cigarettes and e-shisha, real tobacco is used in a tobacco heater. The tobacco sticks it contains are not burned like in a classic cigarette, but are heated to 250 to 350 degrees Celsius using an electric heating element. This means that the user does not breathe in fuel, but still inhales the harmful nicotine.
What substances are in an e-cigarette?
Unlike classic cigarettes, the vapor of an e-cigarette contains no tar and no condensates. The carrier substance for all liquids available on the German market is propylene glycol. Together with glycerin, this alcohol compound is responsible for the fog effect when evaporating.
The liquids are mixed with nicotine and various flavors for taste and effect. The nicotine dosage is given in milligrams per milliliter (mg / ml), but there are also liquids without nicotine added. 20 milligrams per milliliter are the maximum permissible concentration in ready-to-use liquids. For those switching over, the effect initially takes a little getting used to: unlike a tobacco cigarette, the effect of nicotine on an e-cigarette does not set in after three to five, but only after up to 30 seconds.
Flavors such as menthol, apple, cinnamon or vanilla are almost always added to the liquids – a total of almost 8,000 different aromatic additives are available, all of which are already used as food additives.
Is e-cigarette more harmful than smoking?
According to the current state of science, inhalation of the vapor from e-cigarettes is harmless than inhalation of conventional cigarette smoke. In contrast to tobacco, e-cigarettes contain no combustion products and are therefore considered to be less harmful to health. However, various studies indicate that electric cigarettes can also lead to massive health problems.
First of all, this is due to the nicotine contained in most liquids. This neurotoxin becomes addictive very quickly and can lead to cardiovascular diseases and cancer if used for a long time. However, the carrier substances propylene glycol and glycerin used in e-cigarettes can also be dangerous: Although they are considered food additives, they can formaldehyde and acrolein when heated, which are toxic in higher concentrations. In addition, inhalation of propylene glycol can lead to allergic reactions. After just a few minutes, some vapors show irritation to the airways, dry cough, impaired lung function and signs of inflammation in the airways.
Although e-cigarettes and liquids can only be sold with instruction leaflets, small amounts of toxins and unauthorized drugs were found in random tests in some liquids. A recent American study shows that many of the added flavorings irritate the lungs, negatively affect the immune system and can thus lead to diseases such as diabetes, asthma, Parkinson’s and lung and colon cancer in the long term.
Since e-cigarettes were only introduced a few years ago, no reliable statements can yet be made about the long-term damage caused by consumption; long-term studies are still pending here. It is also unclear to what extent the exhaled steam is a health hazard for passive smokers, but the risk appears to be lower than with tobacco smoke.
E-cigarette as an entry-level drug for children and adolescents?
Sweet flavorings such as strawberry and tiramisu are very attractive to children and adolescents and can thus become the gateway for tobacco smoking and nicotine addiction. Typical behavioral patterns of smoking are practiced in a supposedly harmless manner, the switch from vanilla and chocolate flavors to nicotine-containing e-cigarettes is only a small step. A 2018 study found that 22 percent of adolescents who had had experience with e-cigarettes subsequently also smoked tobacco cigarettes – compared to only ten percent of their non-smoking peers. The social acceptance of e-cigarettes also contributes to a renormalization of smoking, cigarettes are more accepted again after years of declining consumption. That is why the sale of e-cigarettes with and without nicotine to minors has been prohibited in Germany since 2016.
Stop smoking with an e-cigarette?
The scientific data on the safety and effectiveness of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation is currently insufficient. The e-cigarette is therefore not recommended as a means of stopping smoking. There are two main points against the use of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation:
- When consuming nicotine-containing liquids, physical dependence is maintained, only the form of the supply changes.
- Smoking rituals and habits are retained. Successful smoking cessation, however, requires changing habitual behaviors to overcome psychological addiction.
For smokers who have already failed smoking cessation several times, some specialist societies still recommend switching to electronic cigarettes in order to at least minimize the damage to health. From a medical point of view, however, completely stopping smoking is the method of choice.