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E-cigarettes are booming and are popularly considered less dangerous than traditional cigarettes. But be careful: e-cigarettes also contain dangerous chemicals. A new laboratory analysis has detected numerous carcinogenic or corrosive substances in tobacco giant Philip Morris’s Iqos brand e-cigarettes. The analysis was commissioned by Blue Cross Bern-Solothurn-Freiburg.
Four Iqos tobacco sticks were inspected for persistent chemicals (PFAS, perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals), the Blue Cross announced Wednesday. These chemicals have been associated with a number of health and environmental problems for some time. They are called “forevers” because they do not break down in the environment.
It’s not the first time the organization has investigated e-cigarettes produced by Iqos. Dangerous chemicals were also found in other laboratory analyses.
Chemical burns, eye damage, carcinogenic
In this study, the Austrian laboratory was able to detect four different chemicals for the first time: perfluorodecanoic acid, perfluorocaproic acid, perfluorobutanoic acid and 4:2-fluorotelomersulfonic acid. As the Blue Cross explains, these can cause severe burns to the skin and serious eye damage, or can be carcinogenic.
The cigarette pack for the study was purchased by the Blue Cross in December 2023 and delivered to the laboratory in its original packaging. Four cigarette pieces, along with the corresponding cigarette paper, were crushed and processed for analysis.
Expert: Dangers of e-cigarettes
It remains unclear whether the amounts found are actually sufficient to harm people’s health. The truth is: Like regular cigarettes, Iqos systems contain natural nicotine, obtained from tobacco leaves at high temperatures. Cancer-causing components of traditional cigarettes, including tar, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, may also be found in these cigarettes. But they occur 30 to 90 percent of the time at lower doses.
Reto Auer, 45, professor of family medicine and chair of substance abuse at the University of Bern, told Blick last year that even though tobacco warmers produce less carbon monoxide and tar than regular cigarettes, systems like Iqos are risky. E-cigarette, snus etc. evaluated the dangers in detail.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, formed as a result of incomplete combustion, are problematic even in small amounts. “It is produced in tobacco heaters as well as cigarettes and is carcinogenic.” Iqos manufacturer Philip Morris also confirms that the products are not risk-free. However, when asked, he emphasized: “The aerosol created by Iqos products contains increasingly smaller amounts of harmful chemicals.” (nim/SDA)
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
