Do they? Again, not that I’ve seen anywhere that vapers congregate. YMMV, obviously.
LOL. You live in an interesting world my friend.
No, we do not “know” this.
““If you are around somebody who is using e-cigarettes, you are breathing an aerosol of exhaled nicotine, ultra-fine particles, volatile organic compounds, and other toxins.” Dr. Stanton Glantz, Director for the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco…
Electronic smoking devices (ESDs) do not just emit “harmless water vapor.” Secondhand aerosol (incorrectly called vapor by the industry) from ESDs contains nicotine, ultrafine particles and low levels of toxins that are known to cause cancer.
ESD aerosol is made up of a high concentration of ultrafine particles, and the particle concentration is higher than in conventional tobacco cigarette smoke.
Exposure to fine and ultrafine particles may exacerbate respiratory ailments like asthma, and constrict arteries which could trigger a heart attack.2
ESD aerosol particles are smaller than 1000 nanometers, which is a similar size to tobacco smoke and diesel engine smoke, and bystanders can be exposed to this aerosol. “The exact size distribution depends on the chemical composition of the electronic cigarette liquid, the e-cigarette device operation, and user vaping preferences.” At least 10 chemicals identified in ESD aerosol are on California’s Proposition 65 list of carcinogens and reproductive toxins, also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. The compounds that have already been identified in mainstream (MS) or secondhand (SS) ESD aerosol include: Acetaldehyde (MS), Benzene (SS), Cadmium (MS), Formaldehyde (MS,SS), Isoprene (SS), Lead (MS), Nickel (MS), Nicotine (MS, SS), NNitrosonornicotine (MS, SS), Toluene (MS, SS).4,” (source: nosmoke.org)
Obviously the dose makes the poison and it is unknown if long-term exposure to these substances in the concentrations present in secondhand vapor pose significant harm to users or non-users. But we do not “know” it is safe.
I’d say, if it’s that difficult for researchers to determine the long term effects of second hand, or hell, even first hand vapor, I’d say, this so called poison is harmful on the same level diet sodas are. Or hairspray, or perfume, or whipped cream, etc…
So really, people need to get the fuck over themselves and put this in the proper perspective it deserves and stop screaming “Witch!” at the “lowly” vapers.
The “e-cig vapor is, like, totally safe” meme just took another hit, thanks to a newly released study.
*"In the paper, “Emissions from electronic cigarettes: Key parameters affecting the release of harmful chemicals,” Destaillats and a team of researchers simulated vaping using three types of e-liquids in two different vaporizers operated at various battery power settings. The two e-cigarettes were quite different, one fairly cheap with one heating coil, the other more expensive with two heating coils in parallel. The researchers used gas and liquid chromatography to determine what was in the vapor, looking at the first puffs as well as later puffs after the device heated up and reached a “steady state.”…
The researchers vaporized liquids consisting solely of the solvents (propylene glycol and glycerin, used in e-cigs) to verify that they were the source of the emissions. In all, the researchers detected significant levels of 31 harmful chemical compounds, including two that had never been previously found in e-cigarette vapor—propylene oxide and glycidol, both of which are probable carcinogens."…
“Advocates of e-cigarettes say emissions are much lower than from conventional cigarettes, so you’re better off using e-cigarettes,” said Berkeley Lab researcher and the study’s corresponding author Hugo Destaillats. “I would say, that may be true for certain users—for example, long time smokers that cannot quit—but the problem is, it doesn’t mean that they’re healthy. Regular cigarettes are super unhealthy. E-cigarettes are just unhealthy.”*
But…but…e-cig users are smokers trying to quit, so we must help them and not threaten their [del]new addictive toy[/del] antismoking aid! Just suck it up and breathe in their secondhand vapor. And no high taxes.
You know, I don’t really care about the taxes per se. I object to the fact that a) they are not uniform across the board, everywhere, b) they were not phased in gradually, and c) the state didn’t just increase the tax, they placed a 40% floor tax on everything that the store already had in inventory. A shop with a modest inventory of $10000, no matter how old or how long it’s been in inventory, no matter whether it has nicotine or not, even if it’s a roll of kanthal wire available anywhere else, has to fork over $4000 on the spot, and THEN add another 40% at the register, with all future purchases under the same rules.
I can buy a gallon of VG and PG, some flavoring, and if I feel like it some nicotine solution, and mix my own for next to nothing. All but the nicotine is readily available and uncontrollable by the FDA as they are common food additives, all generally recognized as safe, and all used to some degree in inhalants or medicines. They can’t tax it. But put it in a “vape shop” and suddenly it’s a feeding frenzy for the government? That’s patently absurd.
As far as the alleged carcinogens are concerned, lots of things cause cancer. If I injected a rat with 5000 times the average human dose of anything they’ll get cancer. The harm reduction is real, but oh noes, something might cause cancer so they can’t have an option outside of something that demonstrably causes cancer! Great reasoning.
None of this justifies a tax that was intended to drive people out of business, ruin their personal finances, and kill jobs. It couldn’t have been for any other reason, even a moment’s thought would lead you to conclude that nobody could survive this. And then Wolf gets in front of the cameras at the DNC last night and talks about hard work and entrepreneurship and how that equals success. With the stroke of a pen he killed hundreds of shops and thousands of jobs. Why, he ought to take a bow for the great things he’s done! He should mention that proudly instead of acting like he cut the heart out of people who did everything he hyped. If it happened to his business he’d be closing up shop right now wondering what the hell happened.
Amen, Brother!
Meh. Little sympathy for smokers here. Sept 1991 was my last cigarette. Cold turkey, haven’t had so much as one puff since. No end smoking program, no help, no patches, no counseling, nada. Just made up my mind I was done smoking. If I can do it, anyone can do it. Just quit and be done with the whole thing.
Some people don’t wanna.