E-Cigarettes Don't Expose You to Just 'Harmless' Water Vapor: Air Pollution Discovered

Could e-cigarettes help you quit smoking? That's apparently not the case, despite what the industry claims. Scientists have discovered that claims about the devices are unsupported by the evidence to date.

In order to better understand the effects of e-cigarettes, the researchers conducted a comprehensive assessment of peer-reviewed published research on the devices. The industry claims that these electronic devices are an effective tool to stop smoking and are a good way to circumvent smoke-free laws by allowing people to "smoke anywhere." They also claim that e-cigarettes only produce water vapor.

Yet that doesn't seem to be the case. Researchers found that e-cigarette use is actually associated with a significantly lower odds of quitting cigarettes. Not only that, but e-cigarette water vapor isn't just water vapor. Instead, it can be a source of indoor air pollution, though the long-term, biological effects are still unknown.

"E-cigarettes do not burn or smolder the way conventional cigarettes do, so they do not emit side-stream smoke; however, bystanders are exposed to aerosol exhaled by the users," write the authors in a news release. "Toxins and nicotine have been measured in that aerosol, such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetic acid and other toxins emitted into the air, though at lower levels compared to conventional cigarette emissions."

It's increasingly important to understand the effects of these devices as more and more people begin to use them. In the U.S. youth, "ever use" of the devices rose from 3.3 percent in 2011 to 6.8 percent the following year. In Korea, it rose from .5 percent in 2008 to 9.4 percent in 2011.

"While it is reasonable to assume that, if existing smokers switched completely from conventional cigarettes (with no other changes in use patterns) to e-cigarettes, there would be a lower disease burden caused by nicotine addiction, the evidence available at this time, although limited, points to high levels of dual use of e-cigarettes with conventional cigarettes, no proven cessation benefits, and rapidly increasing youth initiation with e-cigarettes," write the authors in a news release.

The findings are published in the journal Circulation.