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Jodi Beeson
Mrs.Hensel
English IV Honors
12 November 2014
Harmful Effects of E-Cigarettes
There is major controversy relating to whether e-cigarettes are as safe as their producers
say they are. These products have gotten more popular within the last five years and are even
used by children. Many people are convinced that e-cigarettes are a safe alternative, but are they
really? The dangers of e-cigarettes have not been taken into consideration; e-cigarettes contain
harmful chemicals, fill the lungs with hazardous particles, and can cause house fires.
E-cigarettes are the new, more stylish, way to smoke a cigarette. Cheng says e-cigarettes
are nicotine delivery devices designed to look and feel like a traditional cigarette, a pen or
fashion accessory. E-cigarettes may look different, but they all function the same way (Pierce).
To use an e-cigarette the user inhales through a mouthpiece, triggering a sensor that turns on a
battery-powered heater (Pierce). Performance deals mainly with the structure or design of
something, in this case an e-cigarette. How well an e-cigarette performs depends fundamentally
on the physical and electronic design of the device (Cheng).
Although there are a number of chemicals contained in an e-cigarette, there are two major
chemicals that play a significant role. One chemical, Nicotine, you may think is only in
traditional cigarettes, but is the primary addictive substance in tobacco products (Cheng). Ecigarettes contain a liquid form of nicotine, a substance that is highly addictive and may cause
changes in the development of the brain (Pierce). Studies were made in reference to other
harmful products in e-cigarettes. The newspaper reported that a study revealed formaldehyde a

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known carcinogen, in overheated vapor produced by high-power e-cigarette devices known as

tank systems (Thompson). E-cigarettes can strongly compare to conventional cigarettes in
reference to their dangerous particles. Cheng said these humectants are oxidized to form the
same aldehydes found in conventional cigarette smoke when a heating voltage greater than 3V is
used during the aerosol generation process.
Consequently these new products, that are said to be harmless, produce harmful particles
that can damage the body. Thompson said that new research suggest[s] that e-cigarette vapor
produces tiny particles. Not only do-cigarettes produce tiny particles, but traditional cigarettes
do also. Johnathan Thornburg, lead investigator and a senior research engineer at RTI
International said the particles are of comparable size to those contained in cigarette smoke, and
as many as 40 percent of them reach the deepest part of the lungs when inhaled (Thompson).
An e-cigarettes enhancers such as flavors can have a remarkable difference on the size of these
particles. According to Thornburg the particles the liquid product produces are about 184
nanometers in size and a second liquid--this one with fruit punch flavor-- produced particles
about 270 nanometers in size. Those are within the same range as the particles in cigarette
smoke (Thompson). Not only are particles being produced, but they are being inhaled into the
body through the lungs harming the user. Thornburg also said these small particles have a high
surface area-to-volume ratio and, when they deposit in your lungs, it makes it easy for
whatever chemicals are in them to dissolve into your lung tissue (Thompson).
Even though the chemicals used in these products are dangerous, e-cigarettes alone can
cause way more physical damage. According to fire officials there have been several [reports]
of e-cigarette-related fires involving various name brands across the country (Gilger). Although
Hernandez is unsure of the causes as to why fires are happening and why e-cigarettes arent

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performing correctly he says you can be aware that these can malfunction and these can cause a
fire (Gilger). Fire means danger and danger means money. According to fire officials the
damage [to the Ormans home] was estimated to be more than [$]100,000 (Gilger). Gigler says
its been two months since the fire and the Ormans and their dogs are still living in a hotel
room (Gilger).
Statistics show that e-cigarettes are becoming the next big thing, even to middle and high
school students. Pierce said millions of Americans have joined the trend since the tobacco-free
devices were introduced domestically in 2007,with sales estimated to reach $1 billion this year.
According to the CDC the number that have tried e-cigarettes doubled from 2011 to 2012 and
estimates show that a total of 1.78 million middle and high school children have experimented
with these devices (Pierce). E-cigarettes are harmful, but are even more dangerous to younger
people. Dr.Burkhalter notes that any exposure to nicotine can have harmful effects on the
development of the body and brain in a young person (Pierce). Younger people are expecting ecigarettes to be safer than traditional cigarettes, but what they dont know is that both e-cigarettes
and conventional cigarettes contain nicotine. A CDC report shows of the nearly 1.8 million
middle and high school children who have tried e-cigarettes, an estimated 160,000 of them have
never used traditional cigarettes (Pierce).
The dangers of e-cigarettes have not been taken into consideration. E-cigarettes contain
harmful chemicals, fill the lungs with hazardous particles, and can cause house fires. The
chemicals contained in the different parts of an e-cigarette are not limited to nicotine, and can be
highly addictive to youth as statistics show. Even different brands can leave harmful particles in
your lungs, and can cause damage beyond house fires. If these dangers can be addressed,
hopefully there will be a major decrease in reference to use of these products.

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Works Cited
Cheng, Tianrong. "Chemical Evaluation of Electronic Cigarettes."Tobacco Control.
BMJ Publishing Group, 4 Dec. 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.
Gilger, Lauren. "Phoenix Fire Department Officials Warn Electronic Cigarette Users about Fire
Danger." ABC 15. The E.W. Scripps Co, 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
Peirce, Andrea. "On Cancer: Are Electronic Cigarettes Safer to Use than Conventional
Cigarettes?" Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
Center,28 Oct. 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.
Thompson, Dennis. "E-Cigarette Vapor Contains Potentially Harmful Particles: Review
WebMD." WebMD. WebMD, 7 May 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.