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by Weldon Solis

The FDA has recently taken aim at Electronic Cigarettes by releasing a report stating they are wildly unhealthy. The full report has not been made available to the public but already the results have been shrouded in controversy. Some argue the smoking alternatives can’t possibly be worse than the FDA approved drug Chantix which has already proven itself to be a dangerous substance (people have become suicidal, over-aggressive, severely depressed, etc).

Concerns are beginning to rise that perhaps the FDA is not conducting these tests on electronic cigarettes with the health of the general public in mind. Why is the FDA measuring the safety of these unapproved NRTs to regular health standards instead of contrasting it to the dangers posed by smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes?

One chemical the FDA’s tests pulled out of an electronic cigarette replacement cartridge was Diethylene Glycol. I did some digging on this instead of buying directly into the FDA’s press release. The Health New Zealand study did not test for the substance. This is likely due to the fact they were testing against known carcinogens found in tobacco and the manufacturer ingredient list. Adverse effects of Diethylene Glycol, as reported by its MSDS, are lesions and other forms of damage to the liver and kidneys.

Reading further along the MSDS, I found the first aid section. In it, it advises you what to do in case of inhalation of the substance – remove yourself to fresh air, away from the source. Seeking information about the carcinogenic properties of Diethylene Glycol brought me to the toxicological information. The MSDS stated no carcinogenic suspicion now or in the future. For a human to ingest a toxic amount of DG, they would be hammering down 855.925g before being fatal. That is assuming the dose required to kill half the lab rats at 12.565g/kg could be extended to humans.

Is Diethylene Glycol the main ingredient in antifreeze? The EPA has this to say about antifreeze variations: “Antifreeze typically contains ethylene glycol as its active ingredient, but some manufacturers market propylene glycol-based antifreeze, which is less toxic to humans and pets. The acute, or short-term, toxicity of propylene glycol, especially in humans, is substantially lower than that of ethylene glycol.”

Regardless of which active ingredient the spent antifreeze contains, heavy metals contaminate the antifreeze during service. When contaminated, particularly with lead, used antifreeze can be considered hazardous and should be reused, recycled, or disposed of properly. Ethylene Glycol is the main ingredient in antifreeze. While straight antifreeze is toxic, the main hazard is from used antifreeze, which has absorbed heavy metals.

The other stab the FDA took in their findings as at the presence of nitrosamines (carcinogens) in the electronic cigarette fluid. The type of tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) found are actually naturally occurring in nicotine produced from tobacco leaves. The presence of TSNAs then increases with the strength of nicotine in the cartridges, according to the Health New Zealand study. On average, the cartridges contain 3.928 parts per billion (also noted as Ng or ppb).

The highest amount of TSNAs expected to be found in any “high-strength” nicotine cartridge refill for an e-cig is on average 8.183ppb. The FDA neglected to mention that Nicorette Gum, a long-standing NRT that is FDA approved, also contains about 8ppb. If we want to see why this amount is insignificant, we can compare it to unburned tobacco cigarettes which average approximately 1,230Ng.

The FDA remained silent on equally yoking their findings, which begs the question of their integrity in their studies. Are they seeking to protect the public health, or prevent an unapproved NRT from taking shares from the pharmeceutics and Big Tobacco which they have just gained control over?

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