The Chemicals Between Us
Vaping is a safe as drinking coffee, they say. So what happens when they attack coffee?
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by Dave Cross
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USA Today have carried many anti-vaping articles in the past, typified by this quote: “Just when it looks like the battle against teen smoking might be headed for victory, along comes a potent and popular new threat — electronic cigarettes.” Their editorial concluded that there is a pressing need for further research, something vapers would agree with, but also a call for “strict laws to protect children before the nation finds a new generation duped into craving a potentially dangerous product.”
The Statesman Journal presents new research that “suggests that people who use electronic cigarettes and those in the coffee-roasting industry might be at risk for contracting potentially life-threatening respiratory conditions.” Unfortunately the journal neither links to the research nor cites where this claim may have come from.
The insinuation that diacetyl formed as part of the coffee roasting process in any way poses risks has been roundly slapped down by the National Coffee Association (NCA): “There is no peer-reviewed scientific evidence that exposure to diacetyl created by coffee roasting increases the risk of Bronchiolitis Obliterans (BO) or any obstructive lung disorder. In fact, coffee has been roasted in America for centuries with no evidence that coffee workers are at risk for this very rare disease – and today’s modern coffee roasting machinery and industry practices are more sophisticated than ever. It is also important to note that diacetyl in food and beverages is classified by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as Generally Accepted as Safe (GRAS) for consumption.”
NCA’s response is slightly disingenuous, the vaping community is fully aware of the potential for risk from this chemical and in a previous feature (looking at the actions of a leading American juice manufacturer) we wrote: “Dr Farsalinos is unequivocal that diketones cause damage to the lungs and that it is an additive that doesn’t have to be in liquid. ECTA have eliminated all high level diketone-containing juices from the market in Canada. Vapers will be waiting to see how Five Pawns respond to a growing clamour and how other manufacturers will approach juice composition and testing.”
NCA spokesperson Joe DeRupo believes that this attack on his industry is purely motivated by individuals using sneaky strategies to ban vaping. He believes that legislators will have an easier ride placing limits on airborne diacetyl on an affluent and complaint coffee industry – something it can then impose on the electronic cigarette market.
It is beyond question that regulations are in the pipeline but the response at a recent vape expo in America demonstrated that manufacturers were content to wait and react rather than being proactive in eliminating diketones.
A number of UK juice manufacturers including Manabush, Colonel Boom and Kraken have begun publishing test results showing their liquid is free from diacetyl and acetyl propionyl.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous vape companies to develop content for their websites.
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