Researchers in North Carolina, United States, have developed a new technique to detect the toxicity of e-liquids from electronic cigarettes. Conclusion: some perfumes are more toxic than others.
Mint, strawberry, cotton candy or even mojito… There are thousands of flavors of e-liquids. Researchers at the UNC School of Medicine, in North Carolina (United States), have developed a technique to detect the toxicity of more than 7,700 types of perfumes. According to their results published in PLoS Biology, some flavors are more toxic than others.
Particularly toxic vanilla and cinnamon
The technique developed by the researchers is based on a standard toxicological approach. Human cells are exposed to different e-liquids. The more these products reduce the rate of cell growth, the more toxic they are.
As part of this study, researchers analyzed 148 products. Ingredients, like tastes, vary greatly from product to product. Two ingredients in particular are dangerous according to the conclusions of the study: vanillin (vanilla flavoring) and cinnamaldehyde (cinnamon flavoring), often used in e-liquids.
Pay attention to the basic ingredients
But it’s not just the aromas that are toxic. There are two basic ingredients of e-liquid, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin. They are considered non-hazardous when administered orally. But with the electronic cigarette, these are inhaled.
The researchers found that even in the absence of nicotine or aroma, these two ingredients significantly reduced cell growth when tested. To facilitate the dissemination of their results, the team created a database, available on the internet. You can thus know the toxicity rate of certain e-liquids.
With> 7,700 #eliquids on the market, which are the most / least harmful? New high-throughput test https://t.co/lcWR8PfmmO and open database https://t.co/LDSZutsroZ #PLOSBiology #ecigarette #ecig #vaping pic.twitter.com/uvOADlSAAH
– PLOS Biology (@PLOSBiology) March 28, 2018
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