Could Your Favorite E-cigarette Flavor Cause Permanent Lung Damage?
Could Your Favorite E-cigarette Flavor Cause Permanent Lung Damage?
At a time when more and more research is showing that e-cigarettes could be damaging to your health and well being, here is yet another study from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, which shows that cinnamon flavors, in particular, can cause permanent lung damage among users. According to a report on Healthline.com, the study shows that cinnamaldehyde, which is the chemical that gives cinnamon its unique flavor and aroma, impairs normal airway functioning. It is a common, food-safe flavoring agent that is widely used in food products and e-cigarettes.
Cinnamon Flavoring Could Prove Harmful
However, researchers say, while it is safe for use in food products, heating or burning it could lead to chemical changes that could be harmful to one’s health. The study’s lead author says e-cigarette emissions contain chemicals that have not yet been evaluated for inhalation toxicities. The inhalation of flavoring agents such as cinnamaldehyde could pose “a significant unknown” with regard to the potential health risks. Also, such flavoring agents are used in exceedingly high concentrations in e-cigarettes, which might lead to high exposure, he says.
For this study, researchers performed an in vitro experiment, exposing human bronchial epithelial cell cultures to e-liquids and aerosols containing cinnamon flavoring. Using a high-speed digital camera, they measured concentrations of cinnamaldehyde in cilia, which are small, hair-like projections found in the airways. They found that the flavoring agent affected the normal functioning of the cilia, much like regular cigarettes. These types of effects leave e-cigarette smokers with pulmonary issues including popcorn lung and lung infections. Researchers say they will continue to study the effects of other e-cigarette flavorings such as vanillin and benzaldehyde, which they say could cause similar debilitating effects.
E-Cigarettes Not Harmless
This barrage of information from continuing e-cigarette research only shows that e-cigarettes are not the harmless products their manufacturers claim they are. E-cigarette flavorings are particularly concerning because of their ability to attract young people. The deeper researchers look, the more they are finding that e-cigarettes have chemicals in them that could leave smokers with permanent and irreversible health complications such as lung damage.
Our product defect lawyers have been suspicious of these products ever since they hit the market. We have witnessed clients who are suffering health side effects because of these products. Now, research is backing up these concerns. We hope federal safety agencies better regulate these dangerous products. We will work to get justice for injured clients and hold these manufacturers accountable for misleading the public regarding the safety of their products.
