Vaping (E-cigarettes)
Author | James G. Wigmore |
Pages | 306-440 |
5
Vaping (E-cigarettes)
“Who thought sucking on a battery was a good idea?”
—Hall, “Who Thought Sucking on a Battery Was a Good Idea?” ()
“Researchers have disproved claims by e-cigarette manufacturers that
e-cigarette aerosols are only water vapor, glycerol and PG and can be
used safely in all environments.”
—Walley et al, “A Public Health Crisis:
Electronic Cigarettes, Vape, and JUUL” ()
Most e-cigarettes (ECs) structurally contain five different components:
) Mouthpiece.
) Sensor or user-activated button to ignite the heating coil.
) Power source (usually a rechargeable battery).
) Heating element or coil (atomizer).
) Cartridge or reservoir, which holds a liquid solution (e-liquid or
e-juice) containing varying amounts of nicotine, flavorings, and other
chemicals.
Researchers and academics use the name “electronic nicotine delivery
systems” (ENDS), which is not a name commonly recognized by the pub-
lic. Thus, e-cigarettes (ECs) will be used throughout this book instead. In
many ECs, the user’s pung activates the battery powered heating device,
which activates the heating element and vaporizes the e-liquid, which is
stored in the cartridge.
Vaping (E-cigarettes) |
. HISTORY
“The technology for the modern e-cigarette did not originate solely in
China in ; the idea that Hon Lik was the first person to develop a
device that aerosolised a nicotine solution is an oversimplification of the
history of the e-cigarette. PM began exploring nicotine aerosol generation
technology in to create a product that would serve as an alternative
to NRT therapy for health-concerned smokers and deal with smoke-free
environments. . . . Researchers and policymakers should recognise that PM
developed e-cigarette technology to evade tobacco control regulations.”
—Dutra, Grana, and Glantz, “Philip Morris Research on
Precursors to the Modern E-Cigarette Since ” ()
Tobacco companies developed electronic delivery systems that avoided
smoke for many years before Hon Lik was touted as the first person to
aerosolize a nicotine solution (, –, ). In fact, Hon Lik’s
original device did not use a coil to heat the e-liquid but a piezoelectric
element to produce ultrasonic waves that vaporized the liquid ().
The evolution of ECs can generally be divided into five generations,
each delivering more and more nicotine and volume of vape ():
• st Generation (Cig-a-likes): These ECs looked a lot like cigarettes
and some even had an LED tip to mimic the lit tip of a cigarette.
Some cig-a-likes were disposable and some rechargeable, but the
heating power and volume of nicotine liquid vaporized were low.
• nd Generation (Clearomizers): The clearomizers are transparent
and have higher volume e-liquid reservoirs than cig-a-likes and
have larger variable voltage batteries (pen-style). These vaporizers
are refillable.
• rd Generation (Mods): These much larger devices can contain
refillable tanks, which can contain a much larger volume of e-li-
quids. The coils, batteries, and other parts can be customized or
modified by the user, hence the name. Almost all third-generation
ECs have a fire button and are therefore mainly manual.
• th Generation (Sub Ohm Mods): More powerful mods allow for
large puff volumes and are capable of producing vape clouds.
• th Generation (Pods): The most popular vaping devices include
JUUL and come with a fixed voltage. The fifth-generation devices
typically look like laser pointers or, in the case of JUUL, like a USB
flash drive. In fact, a JUUL EC can be recharged by plugging it into
| Wigmore on Nicotine and Its Drug Delivery Systems
Reference Number:
a computer port. Vaping with JUUL and many other podbrands is
totally automatic with no buttons to push, and the devices contain
small, replaceable, flavored liquid nicotine pods which contain a
greater volume of e-liquid than cig-a-likes. JUUL can deliver more
nicotine than a conventional cigarette and it is easier to stealth vape
in schools or other public institutions than it is to smoke a cigarette.
The trend in ECs has been to have stronger batteries and coils, which
vaporize the e-liquid at higher temperatures to provide a greater hit of
nicotine (). There are now more than brands of ECs and ,
types of flavored e-liquids ().
ECs were marketed by the tobacco industry as a safer method of
obtaining nicotine, which is how low tar filter cigarettes were marketed
in the s and s in order to prevent smokers from quitting ().
Large tobacco companies now own over half of the EC market ().
ECs, however, require more suction and stronger puffs than cigarettes
and allow toxic aerosols (e.g., silver, iron, aluminum, chromium, and
nickel from the heating coils) to enter deeper into the lungs ().
Philip Morris International has funded an institute ($ billion over
years) with the deceptive name of “Foundation for a Smoke-Free
World,” which is basically a front group for the promotion of nicotine in
all other forms but smoking ().
The slow response of regulators to the new ENDS allowed the ciga-
rette companies the déjà vu of advertising to youth just like they did in
the s and s, linking vaping with freedom, rebellion, youth, and
glamor and using cartoon figures (, –). Some vaping ads
have even had endorsement from physicians, just as cigarette ads did
().
The tobacco industry has promoted the incorrect factoid that vaping
is % safer than cigarette smoking ().
Reference Number:
, .., . , .. . “Philip Morris Research on Pre-
cursors to the Modern E-Cigarette Since .” Tobacco Control, :
e–e, ( tables, figures, references)
Abstract: Although the invention of the e-cigarette is often credited to
the Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik in , researchers at Philip Morris
(PM) described a device in that included a heater, which would
be activated when the device was puffed on. A printhead would spray a
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