Worry in the United States about another death related to the use of electronic cigarettes

he electronic cigarette It is targeted by US health authorities. Federal investigators in this country have announced that minus five people died, while about 450 present severe breathing difficulties linked to vaping.

The experts did not give details about what brands or substances in the liquids of the electronic cigarette, they could have caused the observed respiratory problems.

One of the tracks explored by the health authorities is an additive containing vitamin E, normally used as a capsule or skin cream, can be the cause of diseases when sprayed at high temperatures and by inhalation. But federal health authorities have been more cautious while waiting for clear conclusions from laboratory tests.

"A single substance or molecule, including vitamin E acetate, has not been identified in all tested samples," said Mitch Zeller, director of the US Food and Drug's Tobacco Center. Administration (FDA). "We still do not have all the answers"Ileana Arias, director of non-infectious diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

These breathing problems they are even more shocking because they appear suddenly, in patients who are often young and without health problems. In Illinois, half were under 19 years old.

Aside from these ongoing investigations, all versions of the cigarette present a harm to the user, remember RFI Enrique Soto, Director of the National Tobacco Control Program in Uruguay. "Those with the tobacco leaf, who heat, they emit a vapor that contains products in emissions that the user aspires to be harmful. It's not proven that heating the steam is safe for the person, "he says.

"As for those who have liquid capsules, they emit a series of vapors such as propylene glycol or glycerol which, although it is proven that they are not so harmful, the direct effect they produce on the bronchi and various publications mention related pathologies. to the absorption of these vapors. The gases produced by these products are not harmless. There is scientific evidence of their harmfulness to the respiratory system. What can be discussed is whether it is more or less harmful than tobacco. I think there is an area of ​​controversy that may require more study, "he said.

So what should we say to those who see vaping as a way of giving up the ordinary cigarette? "There is no evidence that the use of these products contributes to smoking cessation. There is no work to guarantee it. Worse, there are situations in which the dual use is given: the person uses both alternatives, in some places, electronics and in others, the common, "warns Dr. Enrique Soto.