Are e-cigarettes safe?
No. Even though scientists are still learning about e-cigarettes, they do not consider them safe.
Hazardous substances have been found in e-cigarette liquids and in the aerosol produced by e-cigarettes, including these known cancer-causing agents:
formaldehyde
acetaldehyde
acrolein.
Some chemicals in e-cigarette aerosols can also cause DNA damage.
E-cigarettes do not produce the tar produced by conventional cigarettes which is the main cause of lung cancer. However, many scientists are concerned that using e-cigarettes could increase risk of lung disease, heart disease and cancer.
Research also shows:
a strong association between the use of e-cigarettes by non-smoking youth and future smoking
that many e-cigarette users appear to be continuing to use conventional tobacco products at the same time (dual users). However, this is not a safe way to improve heath. Dual users may be exposing themselves to even higher levels of toxicants compared to people who solely use conventional tobacco products.
It can be hard to assess the safety of e-cigarettes and liquids because:
there are a wide variety of devices and liquids sold
their labels are often incomplete or incorrect
users can change the liquid they use in their e-cigarette and how the device operates
many diseases (such as cancer) take a long time to develop.