Electronic Cigarettes even in Canada Cause Debates

Electronic Cigarettes are stirring up controversy in Canada, specifically New Brunswick according to one article in the CBCNEWS..  In 2009, Health Canada told stores to pull the nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes from the shelf.  The Canadians are now simply buying them online.  This is now having people report to their physicians who are asking the one hard question:  Are they safe?

The New Brunswick Lung Association’s Barbara Walls said she’s just started getting calls about them.

“Recently, I’ve had a call from a physician and a nurse practitioner whose clients are using what’s called vapour e-cigarettes,” she said.

Walls said the callers want to know if the fake cigarettes are a safe way for people to quit smoking.

Now, here is where is gets interesting:

One of the ingredients for one vapour-only cigarette is propylene glycol— found in toothpaste, deodorant and anti-freeze. It’s a skin irritant, said Walls, that may cause liver and kidney problems.

Is it Propylene Glycol or Ethylene Glycol Barbra Walls is referring to?  According to an article in Skin Biology, people often mistake to two:

Propylene glycol is considered a safe ingredient not just for cosmetic products, but also for ingested products like food and pharmaceuticals. It is on the US Food and Drug Administration’s list of ingredients which are Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) and is recognized by the World Health Organization as safe for use.

And then:

Some claims mistakenly equate propylene glycol with the different and dangerous chemical ethylene glycol. When absorbed into the skin, propylene glycol is metabolized into lactic acid, which occurs naturally as muscles are exercised, while ethylene glycol is metabolized into oxalic acid, which is toxic.
Some websites claims made that propylene glycol is an inappropriate ingredient for cosmetics and foods because it can also be used in products (such as antifreeze) which one would not want to consume. Such observations are misleading. It is ethylene glycol, for example, which is a more common ingredient in antifreeze and which is, in fact, highly toxic. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) actually recommends the use of propylene glycol-based antifreeze because it is safer than ethylene glycol should pets accidentally ingest it. Simply because propylene glycol has many different applications does not make all the products which contain it the same

I really wish the scientist had… a referee.  And they were forced to meet and debate and an educated referee, it could be a panel why not, and then decide.  Just an idea.