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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Are The Side Effects Of E-cigarettes?

Hi. My friend is a very heavy smoker. I want him to stop, but he's having a hard time. I considered giving him an Electronic Cigarette. But, I wanted to do a bit of research first because I might end up harming him even more. Are e-cigs safe? Do they have carcinogens, too? And do they promote pneumonia? Thank you so much. I'm really worried. :(
Mon, 1 Sep 2014
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Addiction Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
The research is very early. Nicotine itself is not a carcinogen. So, nicotine replacement with FDA approved patches/gum/lozenges/cartridges are safe and non-carcinogenic. While there may be some carcinogens in E cigarettes certainly there are much less than in regular cigarettes. Research is ongoing on how much of a cancer risk there is from E-cigs but it will take decades before we can see any development of cancer and even then, because most e-cig smokers have also smoked tobacco, the results are going to be not very clear.
They seem pretty safe.
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What Are The Side Effects Of E-cigarettes?

The research is very early. Nicotine itself is not a carcinogen. So, nicotine replacement with FDA approved patches/gum/lozenges/cartridges are safe and non-carcinogenic. While there may be some carcinogens in E cigarettes certainly there are much less than in regular cigarettes. Research is ongoing on how much of a cancer risk there is from E-cigs but it will take decades before we can see any development of cancer and even then, because most e-cig smokers have also smoked tobacco, the results are going to be not very clear. They seem pretty safe.