Second-hand smoke from e-cigarettes also harmful – FDA

MANILA, Philippines - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned yesterday that second-hand smoke from electronic cigarettes could also be harmful to health.

In Advisory No. 2013-015, FDA acting director Kenneth Hartigan-Go said: “Electronic cigarettes are not emission-free... Second-hand exposure to e-cigarette emission which may lead to adverse health effects cannot be excluded.

“E-cigarettes contain volatile organic substances, including propylene glycol, flavors and nicotine, and are emitted as mist or aerosol into indoor air.

“If several people are using e-cigarettes in a room at the same time, considerable indoor air pollution will accumulate and may result to harmful second-hand exposure.”

The advisory said that  “ultrafine liquid particles of less than 2.5 micrometer in diameter” from e-cigarettes may penetrate into the lungs.

The FDA said e-cigarettes contain various harmful substances, citing the study “Electronic Cigarettes – An Overview” by the German Cancer Research Center Unit Cancer Prevention, Heidelberg and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Tobacco Control.

These substances include  “glycol (the main ingredient), nicotine, flavors, tobacco-specific nitrosamines, volatile organic compounds, acetone, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzo(a)pyrene, silicate and various metal particles.”