Is passive smoking harmful? More and more people are ignoring cigarettes and using e-cigarettes. According to numerous studies (long-term studies are lacking), the health risks of e-cigarettes are in no way comparable to those of smoking. Therefore, many consumers want to quit smoking using less harmful alternatives and switch to nicotine-free liquids sooner or later. The motivation for this is to reduce the health risks.
Although passive smoking is not as harmful as active smoking, the high toxicity of tobacco smoke causes acute inflammation of the respiratory tract in passive smokers. It also increases the risk of chronic respiratory diseases. The risk of myocardial infarction and stroke is also greatly increased. The reason for this is that the wide variety of substances in the smoke cause the blood to clot, which in turn clogs the coronary arteries and cerebral vessels. But what about e-cigarettes? Is passive smoking harmful?
Harmless ingredients in e-liquids
The liquid, the consumable part of the e-cigarette, is made up of substances that are harmless to health (except for the nicotine). In addition to distilled water, it contains propylene glycol (PG) and/or vegetable “vegetable” glycerin (VG). If you want to produce a lot of vapour, use a liquid with a high VG content.
If you want a stronger throat hit (the sensation in your throat when you inhale an e-cigarette), choose a liquid with a higher propylene glycol content. Propylene glycol, a hydrocarbon compound, is particularly responsible for carrying a variety of flavours.
E-cigarettes do not burn
The main difference between cigarettes and e-cigarettes is that nothing is burned in an e-cigarette.
The liquid is heated, but it does not produce carbon monoxide or dangerous second-hand smoke like tobacco products. With conventional cigarettes, passive smokers are exposed to a mixture of toxic substances such as benzene, cadmium and formaldehyde.
Studies on rats have shown that second-hand smoke is more toxic than mainstream smoke (smoke inhaled by the smoker himself).
Passive smoking: the effect on indoor air is almost impossible to measure
Is passive smoking harmful? Vaping produces a kind of ‘passive vapour’, as you exhale some of the substance you inhale. However, this does not pose a health risk.
Studies have shown that it is almost impossible to measure the effect of vapour on indoor air.
In 2012, Italian researchers found that breathing in urban areas can be more dangerous than being in the same room as a steamer. In his own expertise on e-cigarettes, Murray Laugesen, a tobacco control researcher in New Zealand, summarises that the exhaled vapour is harmless to third parties.
Despite the lack of danger, there are still restrictions
Although vaping is permitted in the workplace, there are a number of understandable exceptions. Employers cannot impose a general ban on vapour on the basis that it poses no risk to third parties. On the other hand, house rules should be observed on trains and planes. Most airlines (and airports) use their house rules to equate vaping with smoking .