`Popcorn lung' chemical link to e-cigarettes

Three in four e-cigarettes have been found by United States-based experts to use a flavored liquid that has been linked to severe respiratory disease.

Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered devices that heat a nicotine-containing liquid, which is inhaled much like a cigarette.

But unlike traditional cigarettes, the devices are not regulated by US authorities, leading to concern among some experts that they may be harmful to health and that their candy and fruit flavors may appeal to youths and put them at risk of addiction.

That concern led scientists at Harvard University to test flavors such as "Cotton Candy," "Fruit Squirts" and "Cupcake."

Seventy-five percent of the tested samples contained diacetyl, which when inhaled has been linked to the respiratory disease bronchiolitis obliterans sometimes called "popcorn lung" because more than 10 years ago it was discovered in workers who inhaled artificial butter flavor in microwave popcorn processing facilities.

Of the 7,000 varieties of flavored e-cigarettes, researchers focused on testing 51 types sold by leading brands for the presence of diacetyl or acetoin and 2,3-pentanedione two related flavoring compounds that are listed as "high priority" because they may pose a respiratory hazard in the workplace.

The findings are carried in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

In a laboratory testing environment, each e-cigarette was attached to a device that drew air through the e-cigarette for eight seconds at a time, with a resting period of 15 or 30 seconds, to mimic the action of a human smoker.

The air stream was analyzed, and at least one of the three chemicals was detected in 47 of the 51 flavors tested. Diacetyl was detected above the laboratory limit of detection in 39 of the flavors tested, acetoin in 46 and 2,3-pentanedione in 23.

"Since most of the health concerns about e-cigarettes have focused on nicotine, there is still much we do not know about e-cigarettes," says study co-author David Christiani, a professor of environmental genetics.

"In addition to containing varying levels of the addictive substance nicotine, they also contain cancer- causing chemicals such as formaldehyde and as our study shows flavoring chemicals that can cause lung damage." AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Source from: The Standard 10-12-2015

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