The use of e-cigarettes or vaping devices has exploded in the past 5 years with new and smaller devices continuously being developed. These devices are marketed as safer alternatives to conventional cigarettes that can help a user quit their cigarette habit. There is an accumulating body of evidence that suggests e-cigarettes are not harmless and…
Current estimates suggest that there are nearly 38 million people in the US who smoke cigarettes and an estimated 10.8 million people use e-cigarettes with this number rising every year. Nicotine is an addictive drug found in both conventional cigarettes as well as e-cigarettes, cigars, and hookah. Many of the harmful effects of smoking in…
There is an ever growing body of scientific literature showing that the vapor from e-cigarettes are not harmless. The e-cigarette vapor has been shown to contain formaldehyde, glycidol, and other known carcinogens and has also been shown to contain the popcorn lung inducing compound diacetyl. It appears that there are two factors contributing to the…
E-cigarette usage in recent years has grown rapidly with 12.6% of adults in 2014 having reported using them at least once. The largest group of users are those aged 18-24 and nearly 3% of the people who have ever tried e-cigarettes were not smokers before trying them. More frighteningly, from 2013 to 2014 the number…
Popcorn lung, such a silly name for a truly severe disease. More appropriately known as bronchiolitis obliterans, this is a rare, life threatening disease where the airways of the lung are narrowed or closed due to the formation of scar tissue around them. This disease is usually seen when patients who have received a lung…
Menthol is a compound that is commonly isolated from mint plants and is often found in gum, mints and toothpaste that gives the feeling of a cool, clean mouth. Menthol can often be found in medications where it is used to mask unpleasant tastes. Menthol can also be found in cigarettes and are popular among…
Most people now know that cigarettes are the cause of many health problems, and if you don’t, news flash, cigarettes are bad! But what about the new craze, e-cigarettes? E-cigarettes are products that deliver aerosols containing nicotine by heating up a solution in order to vaporize it for inhalation. The compound that the nicotine is dissolved…
Science Translation 