With the aim of discrediting the electronic cigarette industry, big tobacco hs made claims about propylene glycol that are not supported by scientific research. Although a 1942 study in mice at the University of Chicago’s Billings Hospital seemed to indicate inhalation of PG might lead to pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses, follow up studies did not support that conclusion. Long term effects were the focus of the expanded study on monkeys and other animals. No ill effects were observed from propylene glycol.

In a newly discovered zeal to protect the health of hte public, tobacco companies and the FDA shout “danger” when discussing propylene glycol. It’s an interesting strategy as PG has been proven safe and accepted by the FDA for years. The warnings ignore the elephant in the room. E-cigarettes are safer than tobacco. Almost anything you inhale is safer than smoking tobacco.

Propylene glycol in e-cigarettes dilutes the nicotine in a solution that can be deliver to the smoker as a vapor. PG is commonly used as a food additive and is an ingredient in many products we buy. Propylene glycol is the substance that produces the fog generated by fog machines.

Warnings about propylene glycol are not coming from the scientific community, doctors, researchers, scientific journals or nutritionists. Searching online you’ll notice the warnings about PG appear on the blogs of anti-smoking groups, sites of conspiracy theorists and natural healing sites. On several blogs the dire warning of “you are breathing antifreeze” may point out those who flunked organic chemistry. The ethylene glycol in antifreeze is not the same thing.

There is a vast array of information available on the internet. It’s important to remember that not all information is factual or backed by experience, research or knowledge. Baby wipes contain propylene glycol and it’s odd the FDA would allow a dangerous substance to be used in products for infants, isn’t it? Very little PG is ingested in the vapor inhaled by an e-smoker. There are some producers who sell e-liquid with a base of glycerol but PG is the most common ingredient in e-cig solutions.

Consumers are smart to closely examine ingredients in the products they eat or inhale. We have all become more educated about food additives that may cause problems even as they add healthy color. We know to check for a variety of terms when looking for low sugar product as sucrose, fructose and various “syrups” are alternate names for sugar.

Thirty years ago the FDA announced a ban on saccharin and any products containing saccharin. The public was in a panic and threw out their boxes of sweet and low while manufacturers hustled to change the recipes of their food products. Only later was the public told the truth.

What the FDA didn’t tell the public was that the research did not apply to people. The mice had been given huge doses of saccharin daily. Adjusting the amount to that needed for a person to develop cancer would require the person to consume at least 400 cans of diet cola every day for months. Today, saccharin is once again fully available for sale to the public.

Propylene glycol is a necessary ingredient for delivery of e-cig vapor. There is no evidence ths PG causes any danger to electronic smokers despite the efforts of tobacco companies worried about the competition.

Mary Kay Rivers has become a true expert on all facets of electronic cigarettes. Her articles about steam producing- and smokeless e-cigarettes used by COPD patients or about the best electronic cigarette have become very famous.

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Filed under: Electric Cigarette

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