# Question about my electric cigarette **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 17, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-my-electric-cigarette/644254 "2012-12-17T01:56:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-my-electric-cigarette/644254/1 "2012-12-17T01:56:39Z")
My latest attempt at kicking the habit. I had it this morning and yes, it keeps me from lighting up. But I read the replacement capsule label and saw the ingredients to the liquid one puts in: flavorings propylene glycol (hey, that’s a car anti-freeze!) vegetable glycerine nicotine (oh yeah!) So, what’s going to happen if I inhale those? I’m hoping I inhale neither in a couple months. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-my-electric-cigarette/644254/2 "2012-12-17T02:00:26Z")
The propylene glycol thing always bugged (bugs) me as well, but if you look around, you’ll find it’s in most processed foods as well. It’s used to carry flavors. There are e-juices you can buy that only use vegetable glycerine though. I’m not sure, but Johnson Creek may be one of them. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-my-electric-cigarette/644254/3 "2012-12-17T02:19:30Z")
If I have it right, antifreeze is Ethelyne (sp?) glycol. Not sure how different Propelene glycol is. Hell, sodium and chlorine will both kill you, but together they’re table salt. At least you’re not smoking, congrats! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-my-electric-cigarette/644254/4 "2012-12-17T02:21:49Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > If I have it right, antifreeze is Ethelyne (sp?) glycol. > Not sure how different Propelene glycol is. They’re both used (as anti-freeze). ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-my-electric-cigarette/644254/5 "2012-12-17T02:33:20Z")
I quit a heavy, 35-year smoking habit in April by switching to vaping. I use a KGO and high-end juice. [This](http://casaa.org/uploads/DublinEcigBenchtopHandout.pdf) is a bit old, but has some good info. [This forum](http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/medical-research/) also has a ton of good info, Propylene glycol is a common additive in food, and also a propellant in asthma inhalers since the 1950s, so it can’t be \*that \*bad for your lungs. Better than smoking, certainly. Also as **Joey P** says, many juice vendors will mix juice with 100 percent vegetable glycerine. But you lose the throat hit with 100 percent VG. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-my-electric-cigarette/644254/6 "2012-12-17T02:48:47Z")
Yeah, common antifreeze is ethylene glycol, and that’s the stuff that’ll kill you. Propylene glycol, on the other hand is used for all kind of human consumption, internal and external. I believe PG is also sometimes used as _safe_ antifreeze in applications where some piece of industrial machinery might spring a leak and get into food. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-my-electric-cigarette/644254/7 "2012-12-17T04:00:24Z")
Even ethylene glycol doesn’t sound super toxic per Wikipedia, especially in the amounts involved in e-cigarette cartridges (not that they use it): > [@](#): > > Ethylene glycol is moderately toxic with an oral LDLO = 786 mg/kg for humans.[6] The major danger is due to its sweet taste. Because of that, children and animals are more inclined to consume large quantities of it than of other poisons. Upon ingestion, ethylene glycol is oxidized to glycolic acid which is, in turn, oxidized to oxalic acid, which is toxic. (LDLO = lowest known lethal dose, which is far lower than the more common LD50; 786 mg/kg is 55 grams for a 70 kg adult) Of note, oxalic acid is found in [many natural foods](http://www.livestrong.com/article/84477-oxalic-acid-foods/), in some cases, very high amounts: > [@](#): > > Leafy green vegetables contain high amounts of oxalic acid. They include lambsquarter with 300,000 ppm, purslane at nearly 17,000 ppm, spinach at 6,580 ppm and mustard greens at about 1300 ppm. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-my-electric-cigarette/644254/8 "2012-12-17T05:19:43Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > Even ethylene glycol doesn’t sound super toxic per Wikipedia, especially in the amounts involved in e-cigarette cartridges (not that they use it): Yeah, it’s **di** ethylene glycol that’s the really nasty stuff. People have died when that’s inadvertently ended up in toothpaste and cough syrup. (From China and Panama, respectively) I mean, the name of the chemical starts with “die” - what do you expect! 😛