E-cigarettes 1 million times more harmful than polluted air, study raises cancer concern
Feb 29th 2016 3:18PM
A new study from Hong Kong Baptist University has found that e-cigarettes may be more dangerous than previously thought.
Although e-cigarettes are often used as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, the study discovered that e-cigarettes contain one million times more cancer-causing substances than outdoor air heavily polluted Hong Kong.
Researchers found that the level of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a by-product of burning petroleum that is commonly detected in roadside air and carries various kinds of chemicals that promote growth of cancer cells, to be much higher in e-cigarettes than in samples of conventional cigarettes.
"[The level of PAHs] in e-cigarettes is at least one million times more than roadside air in Hong Kong," Chung Shan-shan, an assistant professor of biology at Hong Kong Baptist University told the South China Morning Post.
The study also found a type of flame retardant that affects the reproductive system and could lead to cancer to be present in e-cigarettes. This is the first time this substance has been found in e-cigarettes.
"Even though we don't know the exact number of e-cigarettes one should take, not to mention that many of the carcinogenic effects are cumulative, I don't think there is a safe margin," Chung added.
The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health called for a ban on e-cigarettes after the findings were announced.
