[et_pb_section admin_label=”section” transparent_background=”off” background_color=”#000000″ allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” padding_mobile=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title admin_label=”Post Title” title=”on” meta=”off” author=”on” date=”on” categories=”on” comments=”on” featured_image=”on” featured_placement=”below” parallax_effect=”on” parallax_method=”on” text_orientation=”left” text_color=”dark” text_background=”off” text_bg_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” module_bg_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0)” title_text_color=”#fcfcfc” title_all_caps=”off” meta_text_color=”#f9f9f9″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” title_font_size=”36px”] [\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code”]<iframe width=”1280″ height=”720″ src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PS_9BZ9lNiM?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen><\/iframe>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”Section” fullwidth=”off” specialty=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just don\u2019t victimize smokers twice,\u201d said Gopal Bhatnagar, a practicing cardiac and thoracic surgeon in Toronto.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t make something that\u2019s hyper-addictive freely available to people and then you victimize them again by saying well you know there\u2019s a technology that has the ability to help you get off this… but we\u2019re going to restrict that,\u201d said Bhatnagar.<\/span><\/p>\n From 2005 to 2013, he was the Chief of medical staff of the Trillium Health Centre\u2014a collection of three of hospitals in the Toronto area. After stepping down, Bhatnagar was looking for a hobby. He first came across the electronic cigarette in reading an article online. He found it intriguing, but was hesitant of anything that used the word \u201ccigarette\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Yet after repeatedly seeing the devastating effects smoking had on his patients, Bhatnagar started learning more about the automated gadgets that supposedly helped millions of smokers quit.<\/span><\/p>\n He spent six months reading through scientific articles and calling other shop owners. The more he read on the topic the more certain he became of the effectiveness of the product. \u00a0<\/span>He brought a group of young entrepreneurs together to start an online site that sold e-juice and e-cigarettes. The\u00a0group met would meet with\u00a0customers who were interested in quitting smoking, but wanted more information on the product, on an individual basis.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe knew how shops ran, but wanted to emphasize the smoking cessation aspect, so [we] did not do lifestyle-oriented branding,\u201d said Bhatnagar.<\/span><\/p>\n The online site became such a success the doctor decided to open his own vape shop in Toronto in the fall of 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code admin_label=”Code”]<iframe width=”1280″ height=”720″ src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1HLvnXXe0pM?rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen><\/iframe>[\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n In August 2015 Public Health England \u2013 an organization overseen by the UK Department of Health \u2013 published a<\/span> review<\/span><\/a> of the latest e-cigarette research and concluded electronic cigarettes were 95 per cent healthier than regular cigarettes. The validity of this review has been questioned by some, who believe that the main studies referenced by Public Health England may have been funded by<\/span> tobacco companies<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n In a general survey, Public Health England found that more than 44 per cent of people believed e-cigarettes to be at least as harmful as regular tobacco cigarettes. The survey also found that the perception of electronic cigarettes is largely influenced by the stigma in media coverage of\u00a0electronic cigarettes.<\/span><\/p>\n While there is a lack of research on e-cigarettes, there are many known facts about smoking which make vaping an attractive alternative. Smokers are two to four times more likely than non-smokers to develop heart disease or suffer a stroke. They are also 25 times more likely to develop lung cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEverybody who smokes wants to stop. The people that don\u2019t want to stop are basically the people that have given up, who really feel there\u2019s no hope in them stopping,\u201d said Gopal Bhatnagar.<\/span><\/p>\n But not everyone agrees with the cardiologist.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n On the path to regulation of electronic cigarettes, the question researchers are trying to answer is what are the potential health risks for both the user and the public associated with vaping.<\/span><\/p>\n Licensed e-juices typically contain four ingredients: propylene glycol, glycerin, flavouring and occasionally nicotine, even though it is technically illegal in Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n Propylene glycol is an odourless, colourless chemical. It has very low toxicity in humans, and takes very large quantities to cause any noticeable harm. In fact, it is commonly used in food processing as an additive in frozen desserts, amongst other things. Propylene glycol poisoning does not usually occur unless it is being administered intravenously. It takes blood concentrations of five grams per litre or higher to cause poisoning, which can result in renal failure, seizure or even coma. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sees propylene glycol as being<\/span> safe<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Glycerin is also an odourless, colourless chemical, but it is completely non-toxic. As a liquid it is quite viscous, and very sweet. It is often used as a sweetener. Its consistency and sweetness make it ideal for e-cigarette use.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s still unclear how propylene glycol and glycerin react when heated and inhaled, but to date no evidence has shown these two substances to be harmful.<\/span><\/p>\n A 2015 Harvard University <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> found that some flavoured e-liquids contained known carcinogens. The chemical it was most concerned about was diacetyl, known to cause a rare disease called popcorn lung.<\/span><\/p>\n Popcorn lung\u2014medically termed <\/span>brochiolits obliterans\u2014<\/span><\/i>is an illness where the tiny air sacs in the lungs are scarred. This causes the patients to cough uncontrollably with overall shortness of breath. It is called popcorn lung because of an outbreak in a microwave popcorn plant in Missouri. \u00a0It was discovered that the popcorn used diacetyl to enhance the butter flavouring<\/span><\/p>\n Other reports, such as a 2015 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill<\/span> study<\/span><\/a>, found some types of electronic cigarette vapour had the potential to negatively affect lung cells.<\/span><\/p>\n All of these studies have one thing in common: individual results have never been replicated or substantiated because the e-cigarette is still a relatively new product.<\/span> [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n A common concern relates to the risk of particulate matter in an e-cigarette’s vapour.<\/span><\/p>\n Particulate matter is a combination of small particles that are easily inhaled. Examples would include dust, smoke, or aerosols.<\/span><\/p>\n When e-cigarette users vape, they end up inhaling aerosols, which can cause particulate matter to collect deep in their lungs and sometimes in the bloodstream. Health risks associated with this are mostly cardiovascular, including heart and lung disease.<\/span><\/p>\n Concerns over particulate matter are not unique to e-cigarettes. In fact, cigarette smokers inhale a much higher amount of particulate matter than e-cigarette smokers. Particulate matter is also a major component of second-hand smoke.<\/span><\/p>\n In Canada, second-hand smoke is known to cause devastating effects in innocent bystanders, which is primarily why it is forbidden to smoke in public spaces. One of the major reasons for that is the high concentration of particulate matter in second-hand smoke. But a December 2015 study done by researchers at the University of Southern California indicated that second-hand vapour contains<\/span> 10 times less<\/span><\/a> particulate matter than tobacco smoke.<\/span><\/p>\n Aside from the reduced amount of particulate matter, other effects of second-hand vapour are still largely unknown, including the possible effect of harmful metals, which the same<\/span>\u00a0study\u00a0found in second-hand vapour.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n Some have criticized e-cigarettes because they contain nicotine. In fact, one of the only stipulations in e-cigarette regulation proposed by <\/span>Health Canada is that the device cannot contain nicotine\u2014though it is generally unenforced.<\/span><\/p>\n The<\/span> World Health Organization<\/span><\/a> says there are more than 4,000 chemicals in a tobacco cigarette, more than 250 of them are toxic and at least 50 of them are known to cause cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n When smokers light up, the chemical they crave most is nicotine.<\/span><\/p>\n Nicotine is a stimulant and highly addictive drug that can be dangerous and even deadly when consumed in large quantities.<\/span><\/p>\n Different health organizations like the Heart and Stroke Foundation have called for a ban on electronic cigarettes containing nicotine. In a<\/span> statement<\/span><\/a> it wrote<\/span> \u201cknowledge about the long-term effects of e-cigarette nicotine addiction is also limited however; nicotine is classified as a poison.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nHealth fears<\/b><\/h2>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\nSecond hand smoke versus vapour<\/b><\/h2>\n
Nicotine addiction<\/b><\/h2>\n