| “Dr. Robertson placed groups of mice in a chamber and sprayed its air
first with propylene glycol, then with influenza virus. All the mice lived. Then he sprayed the chamber with virus alone. All the mice died.” This quote is from a TIME magazine article entitled “Medicine: Air Germicide” which dates back to November 16, 1942 (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932876,00.html). The article has renewed relevance today because propylene glycol is the main ingredient in electronic cigarette cartridges.
An electronic cigarette (or e cigarette) looks like a standard cigarette, but doesn’t burn tobacco or release toxic smoke. Instead, each puff vaporizes a small amount of nicotine dissolved in water and propylene glycol. Early studies on the benefits of switching from regular to electronic cigarettes have been promising enough to earn this October 2009 policy statement from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), a UK public health charity that works to eliminate the harm caused by tobacco:
“We believe that products should be made available that deliver nicotine in a safe way, without the harmful components found in tobacco. Most of the diseases associated with smoking are caused by inhaling smoke which contains thousands of toxic chemicals. By contrast, nicotine is relatively safe. Therefore, e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine without the harmful toxins found in tobacco smoke, are likely to be a safer alternative to smoking. In addition, e-cigarettes reduce secondhand smoke exposure since they do not produce smoke.” (http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_715.pdf)
The study cited by TIME magazine was conducted by Dr. Oswald Hope Robertson of the University of Chicago's Billings Hospital. Beyond the commonly-known health benefits of switching to electronic cigarettes, a review of Dr. Robertson’s study raises the intriguing possibility of the chief ingredient in electronic cigarettes acting as a shield against airborne illnesses such as influenza and pneumonia. He found that one part of propylene glycol in 2,000,000 parts of air killed, within a few seconds, air-suspended pneumococci, streptococci and other bacteria numbering in the millions per cubic foot.
With current and inevitable future outbreaks of respiratory illnesses such as swine flu, avian flu, SARS and antibiotic-resistant pneumonia, updated and comprehensive research into this topic deserves to be given a high priority in the medical research community.
Contact: http://www.electroniccigarettesinc.com |
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