E-cigarettes have, without a doubt, become increasingly popular in the past couple of years.
The idea that smoking an electronic cigarette poses less harm to the body than a regular cigarette probably has a lot to do with their growing popularity.
However, although they may seem like a better alternative to smoking cigarettes, they have been found to have some disadvantages, too.
Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Centre discovered that liquid flavourings are especially damaging to lungs and immune cells while researchers from the New York School of Medicine wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that: "We propose that ECS (e-cigarette smoke) is carcinogenic and that e-cig smokers have a higher risk than non-smokers to develop lung and bladder cancer and heart diseases."
According to a study published in the Frontiers in Psychology there are three e-cigarette flavours in particular which should be avoided.
Dr Thivanka Muthumalage, the study's first author said: "Cinnamon, vanilla and butter flavouring chemicals were the most toxic but our research showed that mixing flavours of e-liquids caused by far the most toxicity to white blood cells."
The researchers discovered that when liquid flavourings are heated and inhaled, cells in the lungs experience increased levels of oxidative stress response, which causes the cells to get tissue damage, become inflamed and can even cause cell death.
So while most e-cigarette liquid flavourings may appear safe to ingest, avoiding mixing the liquid flavours, and getting rid of the flavours that could be most dangerous for our body, is definitely a good idea.
