CDPH Experiment Finds Secondhand Vapor Has Minimal Risks

We’ve all heard about the dangers of secondhand smoke. If someone is smoking, most of the smoke that they are inhaling does not go into their lungs. No, instead, most of it goes into the air and anyone in the vicinity can be affected. A smoking alternative that produces higher density clouds, some would think, would have a greater impact on bystanders. Turns out, those people are wrong.

“Get Back, You Don’t Know Me Like That”

250 of the 4,000 chemicals in tobacco can cause illness. Recipients of secondhand smoke have their risks of lung cancer, emphysema, bad cholesterol (LDL), and heart disease increased by 30%.

Besides the cancer risks, it's just plain rude when someone blows smoke in the direction of another person, directly or indirectly. Of course, some places are better than others: bars, pool halls, public patio spaces, hotel bathrooms with a towel under the door and a hot shower running… you know, the usual places.

But smoking indoors has been banned in numerous areas with the public awareness of the hazards of secondhand tobacco smoke. Yet, many of those same places allow vapor inside. “Why is that?,” you ask. Well, I might have an answer.

Gather Around the Coil, It’s Storytime

Some people would have you believe that vaping contains little to no positive attributes, including the former CDPH’s (California Department of Public Health) Director and State Health Officer, Ronald Chapman, who has his own reputation. This is disputed and most probably false. The CDPH discovered evidence in their study last year that secondhand vapor is nearly harmless.

Enter Michael Siegel, former researcher for the CDC and current Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at Boston University School of Public Health. A publisher of nearly 70 tobacco-centric research papers, and a witness in the $145 billion Engle trial loss for Big Tobacco,  Dr. Siegel published the findings of a CDPH-controlled experiment where negative effects of secondhand vapor was found to be extremely minimal. Conducted in a vape shop in California, the CDPH essentially funded a giant vapor hotbox. Next time, y’all let me know where to sign up.

To give you an idea of how minimal the risk of hazardous chemicals was, chemicals such as Nicotine, Glycidol, Diacetyl, Benzene, and Chloroform, common toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke, were not detected in the experiment’s air sample. Formaldehyde, a popular toxic substance mentioned in these conversations, was found to be at normal indoor and outdoor levels— the same as under normal conditions. These were the results in a room with no ventilation.

So What Now, Fellow Vapers?

The battle for more competent research on vaping and its side effects rages on. Thorough scientific studies, especially from third party and independent researchers with no motives, are our best bet for finding the truth. We continue to hope for the best in the research battle against big tobacco and we’ll continue to share these reports with you as they become available.