Electronic Cigarettes – Do They Pose Any Health Risks?

Electronic cigarettes as used today have not changed much from the original idea of Herbert A. Gilbert. In 1963, Herbert A. Gilbert, patented a device that involved heating a nicotine solution and producing steam. The steam was then inhaled giving the same effect as the traditional Tobacco cigarette. Gilbert’s idea was never commercialized. 

The electronic cigarette of today is a gadget that has a heating element; the element heats a liquid solution that vaporize giving off a smoke like appearance. 

The liquid solution usually contain a mixture of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine, and flavorings. It is important to mention that this liquid causes vomiting, nausea and eye irritation in children if ingested.

Jasper electronic cigarettes is the first brand to heat the Kenyan market, currently being only a preserve of the elite. The response so far has been that it is hip, but the important question would be:

Do electronic cigarettes pose a health risk to users?

A 2008 statement by the world health organization summarizes that not enough clinical studies have been done to ascertain the safety of electronic cigarettes.

A recent study by the centers for disease control shows that the number of calls to poison centers involving electronic cigarettes rose from one per month in 2010, to 215 per month in February 2014. 

The report concludes that e-cigarette liquids containing nicotine have the potential to cause immediate adverse health effects and represent an emerging public health concern.

E cigarettes have been marketed as possible aids to quitting smoking, but the world health organization and the centers for disease control and prevention refute this claims.

It seems that besides being hip, electronic cigarettes have no other added value to smokers.