How we know PG is safer than analog cigarettes

[AnglVapin]

Absolutely superb Spikey!

Thanks for all that you do in helping others and educating all.

Again, many thanks to you!

 

[Mary Kay]

The World Health Organization recommended name for albuterol base is salbutamol.
Albuterol Sulfate Syrup for oral administration contains 2 mg of albuterol as 2.4 mg of albuterol sulfate in each teaspoonful (5 mL). Albuterol Sulfate Syrup also contains the inactive ingredients citric acid, FD&C Yellow #6, flavor enhancer, hypromellose, propylene glycol, purified water, sodium benzoate, sodium citrate, strawberry flavor. Sodium hydroxide may be added to adjust pH.

This is the liquid Albuterol, I think it also may be found in the inhaler. But I can't read the fine print..having some eye problems. But at least it helps with the "what happens if it gets in your mouth" problems.

Great work Spiky, T B, Yvilla and everyone.

 

[myrtlemeva]

Sodium benzoate ---- eek! Isn't that a known carcinogenic? Artificial colours and flavours? Would much rather have PG in my mouth thank you.....! XXX

 

[Fred]

I was unlucky to have asthma in my youth but that also makes me feel very safe with e-liquids: be it PG, VG or PEG as they all are low votality components in the aerosol inhalers that I used so often.

Just google "Aerosol inhaler patent EP1244487"

 

[enrogae]

Awesome job Spikey! You continue to amaze me! Incredibly awesome information! I must say it set my mind at ease, having only heard the misinformed counterpart. This definitely needs a sticky!

 

[CardinalWinds]

I don't know now many times you can hear "great job!", but...great job!

If this isn't sticky worthy I don't know what is.

 

[Palmetto]

Well done, Spikey. Many thanks to you and all who contributed.

 

[Tallgirl1974]

For those who don't know.. the legislature attempeted an outright ban of e-cigs where we live. You all wrote letters and they CHANGED the legislation!!! Now they are restricting sales to only 19 and over and they are restricting use to "smoking areas only".

Great info links. Is the age to smoke cigs there 19?
Its 18 here!
Its good! Baby steppin...I believe we have to accept baby steps.. its how everything works in this coutry- I hate being forced to go where smokers are because the smell now makes me kinda sick. Im not going to listen to them- They would never know if I am in a stall or place where no one would notice.

 

[Vicks Vap-oh-Yeah]

Great info links. Is the age to smoke cigs there 19?
Its 18 here!
Its good! Baby steppin...I believe we have to accept baby steps.. its how everything works in this coutry- I hate being forced to go where smokers are because the smell now makes me kinda sick. Im not going to listen to them- They would never know if I am in a stall or place where no one would notice.

I would also say yes, baby steps. Our first step is acceptance that these are a legal substitute - and not just the next dangerous threat to the general population. In that, you're doing a wonderful job, Spikey. The push, the drive, the passion are all there, and I, like many others, want to say, again, thank you.

 

[scyllabub]

Has this gone yet? I'm just starting and have picked up MINISCULE... should be MINUSCULE. Not being picky about grammar/syntax stuff because this is not supposed to be from a 'professional'.

PROPOGATED = PROPAGATED

EMMITTED = EMITTED (or try DISPERSED?)

Do you mean to say "prohibit the use of smoke/fog machines within your county" or do you mean "country"? Just asking cos I haven't delved into the context.

It will take me quite a time to go thru all of it but I'm happy to if it is required. (To-ing and fro-ing is crashing my Firefox )

(((Spikey))) that's a super-human job you've done there, you and your cohorts Thank you very much!

Now I'll read the thread.

scylla

 

[dijohn76]

Spikey, wonderful job. All of us appreciate the tremendous amount of time this must have taken. This is just the type of information that needs to be in the hands of each of our Senators and Congressman. Thanks again for all the effort.

 

[towardsthelight]

Thanks for the props guys... but don't forget any sugestions you may have. There are a few PG articles I omitted cause they had to do with cigarette smoking and I don't want to relate the 2.. but if you find any OTHEr articles that should be included.. please post the suggestions here or PM me!

I think you have EXCELLENT reports here with regards to ingredients (there is no doubt that the ingredients we are inhaling are far safer than analogs); I think our next battle should be dosage safety... they are now trying to get us on the uncontrolled nicotine dosage. We all know that most of us do our homework and educate ourselves in order to avoid overdose, but how do we fight this one? Any thoughts?

 

[Spikey]

I think you have EXCELLENT reports here with regards to ingredients (there is no doubt that the ingredients we are inhaling are far safer than analogs); I think our next battle should be dosage safety... they are now trying to get us on the uncontrolled nicotine dosage. We all know that most of us do our homework and educate ourselves in order to avoid overdose, but how do we fight this one? Any thoughts?

Currently all I can come up with is "you know it when you feel it and you stop using the device"... but thankfully the question has not been addressed by the ignorant people we are dealing with (though I am sure it will now that I said that on here and they are watching us lol!).

I do think it is a VERY relevant issue... I am not sure what to do about it though. I am on no nic. I had almost NO trouble weaning of nic (went down very gradually at 2 MG lower per week). I wish others could as well. Many probably could if they tried.. but it seems they don't want to and justify using nic by saying they quit tobacco.

I know nic is not harmful to the avg person, but I am on birth control and have high cholesterol so I am sure I am at risk for heart probs when I add nic.

I wish there was a way to regulate. Many of the people who use 24 and 36 would likely find if they dropped down 2 MG per week they would find it almost unnoticable. The majority of smokers find 11MG to be plenty to kill the cravings once they have been vaping for 2 or 3 weeks.

I could understand starting at 18 or 16 to kill cravings for the first few weeks.. but I think 11MG should be plenty for the average "ex-smoker". Maybe 24 down to 18 for the 3 pack a day smoker.. but I don't think if Kate's formula is correct that it was possible for ANY smoker to take in as much nic as we take when we vape 36 MG even if they used to stay awake 24 hours a day and smoke cigarettes.

 

[scyllabub]

Just a note to acknowledge Spikey's PM - which I will not be responding to because I dread to think of the state of her Inbox.

And, another huge THANK YOU for her work!



scylla

 

[tescela]

All this info is posted at Propylene Glycol Research Study Results so I can add to it as necessary.. it will also be easier to share with others from that page.


Guys.. below is a compilation of the relevant PG articles I am sending to the legislators we have been meeting with to show them that there ARE studies on PG and they show it to be SAFE!

For those who don't know.. the legislature attempeted an outright ban of e-cigs where we live. You all wrote letters and they CHANGED the legislation!!! Now they are restricting sales to only 19 and over and they are restricting use to "smoking areas only".

Our goal is to show them that they are needlessly risking our health by putting us in a "smoking" environment when we are not using anything that has been deemed to be unsafe by ANY govwernmental agency (which by the way is why FDA has not banned it outright yet).

Thanks to Tropical Bob and Yvilla for the help (Yvilla I didnt' check the few quotes that you got from the EPA article... did you use copy/paste or type them out? Don't wana send it until I am sure. Also if someone can please check CAREFULLY for spelling or serious grammar errors.. that would be helpful. I would like to send this today!!!! Also.. I have not read the New Zealand study in it's entirety.. so if anyone else has a few useful quotes from it.. that would be nice to add... Thanks! Spikey

Maybe a sticky for this??? Will be important for future letter writing and campaigning.






It is very difficult to listen to repeated comments about how we have "no studies" on the effects of electronic cigarettes and the second hand vapor given off by these devices. The main component of the liquid used in these devices is Propylene Glycol (also called PG in references below). There is much research on devices that parallel the effects of this device (fog/smoke machines which put out a significantly higher amount of vapor than these devices and many studies on the individual components (PG, nicotine and water) which make up the vapor given off by the device. There is also a study on the actual vapor given off by the device when all components are combined. It is disappointing that the media and the people providing this information are so misinformed and would make statements which have no scientific basis.

I have omitted studies on Nicotine and water since I am sure you are already aware that there are relatively few harmful effects from nicotine use by the average person and water vapor is not really a concern. Nicotine vapors emitted by exhaled vapor from an e-cigarette are miniscule and negligible due to the fact that the majority of the nicotine is absorbed into the body.

There are studies regarding inhalation of propylene glycol and its safety dating back to the 1940's. In fact, it has been used extensively in the US since the 1950’s, in medical devices such as asthma inhalers, as an air disinfectant in places like hospitals and restaurants, and even in hundreds of thousands of entertainment venues such as bars and theaters, since it is the substance used for fog and artificial smoke machines.




Here are a few quotes from the 2007 EPA re-registration decision approving the use of propylene glycol in places like hospitals and food establishments:

"Propylene glycol is used in air sanitization and hard surface disinfection and dipropylene glycol is used in air sanitization."

"Propylene glycol and dipropylene glycol were first registered in 1950 and 1959, respectively, by the FDA for use in hospitals as air disinfectants."

"Indoor Non-Food: Propylene glycol is used on the following use sites: air treatment (eating establishments, hospital, commercial, institutional, household, bathroom, transportational facilities); medical premises and equipment, commercial, institutional and industrial premises and equipment; laundry equipment; hard non-porous surface treatments (bathroom facilities); automobiles; air conditioning filters; pet treatment, including cats, dogs, and caged birds; environmental inanimate hard surfaces; garbage containers/storage."

"Target Pests: Odor-causing bacteria, Fleas, Mites, Red lice, Animal pathogenic bacteria (G- and G+ vegetative), Shigella bacteria, Pasteurella bacteria, Listeria bacteria, Herpes Simplex I and II, Animal viruses, Influenza Virus A2, Aspergillus Niger Fungus, Mold/Mildew, Pseudomonas SPP., Shigella Flexneri, Shigella Sonnei."

"General Toxicity Observations
Upon reviewing the available toxicity information, the Agency has concluded that there are no endpoints of concern for oral, dermal, or inhalation exposure to propylene glycol and dipropylene glycol. This conclusion is based on the results of toxicity testing of propylene glycol and dipropylene glycol in which dose levels near or above testing limits (as established in the OPPTS 870 series harmonized test guidelines) were employed in experimental animal studies and no significant toxicity observed."

"Carcinogenicity Classification
A review of the available data has shown propylene glycol and dipropylene glycol to be negative for carcinogenicity in studies conducted up to the testing limit doses established by the Agency; therefore, no further carcinogenic analysis is required."

And there is much more information in the full document linked below: http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reregistration/REDs/propylene_glycol_red.pdf



Here is a link to a Time article about propylene glycol’s germicidal properties when inhaled, published in 1942. They determined that inhaling Propylene Glycol in levels which were significantly higher than would be common under any circumstances did not have any ill effects on the monkeys used for the study. The only significant effect they noted was weight gain. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932876-2,00.html


This article is about a study done (in the 1940's since it is obviously an unethical study to be done today!) where PG vapors were emmitted into a children's convalescent home.
http://www.ajph.org/cgi/reprint/36/4/390.pdf
Quote fron this article:
"The report of the 3 years' study of the clinical application of the disinfection of air by glycol vapors in a children's convalescent home showed a marked reduction in the number of acute respiratory infections occurring in the wards treated with both propylene and triethylene glycols. Whereas in the control wards 132 infections occurred during the course of the three winters, there were only 13 such instances in the glycol wards during the same period."




Here is an incredibly long list of air sanitizing products in current commerce based on propylene glycol, many used in hospitals as approved by the EPA in the above PDF:http://www.scorecard.org/chemical-profiles/pesticides.tcl?edf_substance_id=57-55-6




Here is an article about long-term exposure of significantly high levels of PG vapor in monkeys and rats.
http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/91/1/52
From this article:
"With a view to determining the safety of employing the vapors of propylene glycol and triethylene glycol in atmospheres inhabited by human beings, monkeys and rats were exposed continuously to high concentrations of these vapors for periods of 12 to 18 months. Equal numbers of control animals were maintained under physically similar conditions. Long term tests of the effects on ingesting triethylene glycol were also carried out. The doses administered represented 50 to 700 times the amount of glycol the animal could absorb by breathing air saturated with the glycol.
Comparative observations on the growth rates, blood counts, urine examinations, kidney function tests, fertility and general condition of the test and control groups, exhibited no essential differences between them with the exception that the rats in the glycol atmospheres exhibited consistently higher weight gains."





Article on the repeated exposure of rats to PG suggesting low priority for further study due to lack of ill effects.</B>http://www.inchem.org/documents/sids/sids/57-55-6.pdf
The first few lines of this study say:
"Propylene glycol (PG) is not acutely toxic. The lowest oral LD50 values range between 18 and 23.9 grams (5 different species) and the reported dermal LD50 is 20.8 grams. PG is essentially nonirritating to the skin and mildly irritating to the eyes."




Here is a link to a study showing the safety of propylene glycol as the carrier for inhaled Cyclosporine, for lung transplant patients. Propylene Glycol is used as a drug delivery system, even for patients who have pulmonary complications and whose lungs are compromised BECAUSE of the germicidal and virucidal properties of the substance. http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jam.2007.0626
From this article:
"There were no respiratory or systemic effects of high doses of propylene glycol relative to air controls. These preclinical studies demonstrate the safety of aerosolized cyclosporine in propylene glycol and support its continued clinical investigation in patients undergoing allogeneic lung transplantation.





The article below explains that the Entertainment and Services Technology association hired TWO independent companies to test the toxicology of propylene glycol in vaporized form in a work environment.
http://www.esta.org/tsp/working_groups/FS/cihintro.htm
Quote from this article:
"The Cohen Group report and the HSE Consulting report are not identical documents, but are substantially congruent in their findings. Both reports state that all of the chemicals they studied (glycerin and five dihydric alcohols) are of low toxicity. Some of the chemicals are of such low toxicity that no maximum allowable concentrations have ever been established, even though they are used in a wide variety of industrial applications. A few of the chemicals have permissible exposure limits defined by a variety of governmental bodies in the US, UK and Germany, but these exposure limits are believed to be higher than the levels needed to produce a heavily fogged theatrical environment. Neither report gives any indication that performance environments should be evaluated in a manner different than that used for other industrial work sites.

Below are links to the independent studies completed for the ESTA.
http://www.esta.org/tsp/working_groups/FS/docs/cohen.pdf
Statement from the Cohen Study:
"Prolonged and repeated inhalation of triethylene glycol and propylene glycol concentrations well above those present in high-density fog theatrical productions has been repeatedly demonstrated to not pose a health hazard to human subjects. Both glycols have generally been found to be not irritating to the eyes and skin, although splashing the pure compound into the eye may produce transient irritation."
http://www.esta.org/tsp/working_groups/FS/docs/HSE.pdf
Statement from HSE study in which PG referes to Propylene Glycol:
"PG, G, and TEG’s toxicity data appears to be well studied and demonstrates low occupational hazards."




Article about E-cigarette safety and study confirmation
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/ecigarette-safety-for-consumers-and-bystanders-confirmed-by-medical-study-101013.php
From this article:
"Toxic emissions scores for the Ruyan brand of e-cigarettes tested compared to tobacco cigarette brands such as Marlboro revealed what most e-cigarette consumers already knew: tobacco cigarettes emit over 100 times more toxic chemicals than e-cigarettes do. From a list of more than 70 of toxic substances found in tobacco cigarette smoke, 0 of those toxicants were found in e-cigarette emissions."




Actual study on E-cigarette liquid.
http://healthnz.co.nz/RuyanCartridgeReport21-Oct-08.pdf
Direct Quote from this article:
"Several toxicants in headspace of the Ruyan® e-cigarette cartridge have, on some tests, been found, specifically acrolein and acetaldehyde, at very low levels, and at levels below those determined to be harmful, and well below the minimum risk levels accepted by the US Public Health Service and OSHA.
The results obtained to date do not mitigate this report’s overall conclusion that the Ruyan® e-cigarette is designed to be a safe alternative to smoking, and appears to be safe in absolute terms on all measurements we have applied."




Below are links to some statements and interviews from doctors sharing their feelings on these devices.

Dr. Joel Nitzkin: http://www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/interviews/joel-nitzkin-electronic-cigarette.html

Dr. Michael Siegel: http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/03/senator-and-anti-smoking-groups-want-to.html

Dr. Carl Phillips:http://www.tobaccoharmreduction.org/faq/ecigs.htm

And I’ll add an interview with David Sweanor:http://www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/interviews/david-sweanor.html

Here is a video by former US Congressman Matt Salmon, the current president of the ECA (Electronic Cigarette Association):http://www.ecassoc.org/





The bottom line is this: Propylene glycol as the base carrier liquid for the small percentage of liquid nicotine found in e-cigarettes is a safe and well-studied substance. It truly amazes me to hear such misinformation spread, even by doctors and health groups, about propylene glycol and e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes are in fact considered by many reputable doctors and others in the field of tobacco harm reduction to be nearly one-hundredth as harmful as the so freely available tobacco cigarettes they were designed to be an alternative to. I believe the misinformation is deliberately propogated by people with a vested interest in seeing these devices do not succeed in replacing TOBACCO cigarettes. The media may succeed in scaring consumers, but the government cannot justifiably ban this device without some form of ACTUAL study showing detriment to the body of the user or the people around the user.

By condemning e-cigarette users to a smoking environment, you risk the health of the residents who have quit smoking for a healthier lifestyle and to protect the health of their chilkdren, families and those around them. If you refuse to prohibit the use of smoke/fog machines within your county then there is NO reasonable basis for these restrictions. Now that you have the above information, the fact that we "do not know" what is in the vapor is NO longer acceptable.

As the saying goes, Spikey: you are the woman!!!

 

[Mac]

Awesome post! We will use this information at our kiosk.

 

[Princessdee]

Sorry so late, has this gone off yet?

Last paragraph:

and to protect the health of their chilkdren, families and those around them. If you refuse to prohibit the use of

Spikey, "Ya did good"

Hugs ~ P

 

[Spikey]

Awesome post! We will use this information at our kiosk.

No prob Mac.. go for it.. I would suggest you include (though you are NOT obligated to) www.VapersClub.com in the flyer somewhere so you can get a south VA chapter of the Vapers Club going!

Also... DO NOT FORGET to write mto SJ (the admin) and ask to be labeled as a "supplier". Even if you sell at a kiosk.. you are still "supplying" e-cigs. Unless you just work there and you are not the owner?

Sorry so late, has this gone off yet?

Last paragraph:



Spikey, "Ya did good"

Hugs ~ P

Thanks Dee Now you see why I have not finished your companion/dripper yet... had to read hundreds of pages of articles to make this stupid list lol!

 

[katink]

I really wish this would either be stickied; or at least the first post would be copied to perhaps a read-only info-forum somewhere. Almost ALL new users come up with this 'how dangerous are the ingredients' thing; it would be very easy (and would also avoid misunderstandings and sometimes even verbal fights) if we could just give them a (continued findable) link to this great answer.

And Spikey and club, once again: best of luck!

 

[Ivisi]

Agreed, sticky, please. Awesome info.

Ivisi