We know that smoking is very toxic to the people around you. But should we be worried about passive vaping? Are there any risks when exposed to aerosols from electronic cigarettes?
In 2022, 41.2% of 18-75 year olds said they had already tried an electronic cigarette. According to the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies, the prevalence of daily vaping was then 5.5%.
Let’s confirm it right away, “Passive vaping is much less toxic than cigarettes when the smoker does not puff on them”Professor Bertrand Dotzenberg, a pulmonologist and tobacco expert in Paris, explains.
Thus, 90 nanometer particles from cigarettes – tar, nitrosamine, formaldehyde and other aldehydes are responsible for lung cancer in smokers. For their part, e-liquids contain almost no nitrosamines, sometimes only in trace amounts..
“It also does not contain tar, which constitutes more than 90% of the carcinogenic substances in cigarette smoke. In normal operation, we also find less aldehydes compared to cigarette smoke which represent 1% of the carcinogenic mass of tobacco smoke. The vapor contains almost no carcinogens or 99.5% less than cigarette smoke” Professor Dotzenberg develops.
Very short transmission time
With vapor, which therefore does not burn, only the vapor emitted by the vapor is found in the air. “Let’s imagine that a vaper takes 15 puffs on his electronic cigarette, which is the average number of puffs with an e-cigarette. Then we end up with an emission of 30 to 50 seconds instead of 5 minutes, i.e. 10 times less than the emission time. Compared to a lit cigarette”, Tobacco expert shows.
Additionally, unlike cigarette smoke, e-cigarette vapor does not contain solid particulates, which are responsible for harmful effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. “These are fine droplets that turn into gas and that disperse very quickly. Nothing floats in the air after 1 minute, unlike tobacco smoke, whose solid particles can remain in the room for several hours after lighting a cigarette”, highlights Professor Dotzenberg.
Pay attention to nicotine
If passive smoking matches the opposite Passive vaping is often argued in favor of a lower risk than vaping, although substances are actually released into the air when the vaper exhales the vapour. This especially concerns the nicotine in the e-cigarette liquid that contains it.
In 2015, a Norwegian study showed similar levels of nicotine in the atmosphere between vapor and cigarettes. “Passive exposure to e-cigarette aerosol may result in higher ambient nicotine levels than passive smoking of traditional cigarettes.” shed light on this work. “Norwegian Institute of Public Health Estimates Inert Vapor May Affect Cardiovascular System”, Then Relay Tabac Information Service. It can also create a tolerance to nicotine, which is the first step towards addiction. But for Bertrand Dotzenberg, “This sequence of facts has yet to be demonstrated.”
As a reminder, nicotine, although it is responsible for the phenomenon of dependence and the resulting withdrawal effect when quitting smoking, is not among the toxic and carcinogenic substances in cigarettes.
Small enclosures are particularly at risk
“We do indeed detect nicotine and other substances that are released by electronic cigarettes, but never at the levels described in the Swedish study. The risk, however, is greater in small enclosed spaces such as cars, for example”, Underlines Bertrand Dotzenberg.
To limit passive vaping exposure of people around you, the Tabac Information Service recommends avoiding using vape in closed rooms and in the presence of small children, if necessary to ensure the room is well ventilated, do not vape in a car. Presence of children and non-smokers and never vaping in children’s rooms.
“Effective Aids to Quit Smoking”
Professor Dotzenberg finally suggests that it is possible to significantly reduce the risks associated with nicotine for those around vapers. “You should choose a small vapor device, inhale the vapor and wait 5 seconds before exhaling. Then the amount of nicotine released will be minimal,” Recommends an expert.
For the moment, lack of data “critical”, Electronic cigarettes are not recommended by the High Authority of Health as a means of quitting tobacco. The latest opinion of the High Council of Public Health goes in the same direction: “There is insufficient evidence to recommend SEDEN (Electronic Nicotine Delivery System) as a smoking cessation aid in the treatment of smokers by health professionals.” On the other hand, the Société Francophone de Tabacologie has for its part reaffirmed the potential interest of vaping in smoking cessation. According to her, “Electronic cigarettes may be an effective aid to smoking cessation. In this case, it should be used temporarily (in the absence of specific data on its long-term effects) to prevent tobacco consumption. It should be restricted to non-smokers“
