Are E-Cigarettes More Dangerous Than Traditional Cigarettes?

If you know someone who vapes -- inhales tobacco through steam instead of smoke -- they'll likely tell you that vaping is not near as bad for you as smoking cigarettes.

And for years, doctors and scientists nodded their heads in agreement.

But a new study from the University of California Davis says e-cigarettes, known as vapes, may actually pose a greater danger than traditional cigarettes.

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It found hazardous levels of several toxic heavy metals in vapes could cause a high cancer risk.

Researchers tested three popular vape brands: ELF Bar, Flum Pebble and Esco.

These e-cigarettes are not FDA-authorized for use in the U.S, but are sold by retailers.

Lead, nickel and antimony were detected in all heavily flavored and lightly flavored devices that were tested.

Every. Single. One. Of. Them.

Local Thoughts

I told a friend of mine (we'll call him Dallin) about this new study. His response was this: "I know this stuff will kill me, but I'm not going to stop."

Even with this new information?

"It makes me feel good. I get a little buzz from it. And if it's slowly killing me, well, at least it's slow."

Worse Than Sugar

Dallin compares it to eating bad-for-you food.

"I don't eat much junk food, but I know a lot of people who do. And doctors have told them that that stuff is killing them, but they don't stop."

He points at fried food, pastries and artificially colored candy as being just as toxic as vapes.

The argument can be made that sugar is everywhere and in almost everything, so it's much harder to avoid than something like vaping.

"It is (definitely) easier to prevent nicotine," reads the website Modern Women's Health. "There are the obvious items that contain sugar, like coca cola, chocolate, candy, biscuits, cake, pudding, jello, and cereals. But ... there are hidden sugars in your food too. Sugar can be found in your bread, yogurt, smoothies, ketchup and even in baked beans. Even foods that are masquerading as ‘skinny’ are packed with sugar too. Avoiding sugar is difficult."

However MWH and other experts agree that if you don't choose to avoid either one, tobacco (and nicotine) is by far the worse choice.

“Our study highlights the hidden risk of these new and popular disposable electronic cigarettes — with hazardous levels of neurotoxic lead and carcinogenic nickel and antimony — which stresses the need for urgency in enforcement,” said senior author Brett Poulin, an assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Environmental Toxicology. “These risks are not just worse than other e-cigarettes but worse in some cases than traditional cigarettes.”