E-cigarettes, Carcinogens "Surge" When Exceeding 250℃

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] Domestic researchers have developed equipment that can generate smoke from liquid-type or cartridge-type electronic cigarettes to analyze their harmfulness. Using this equipment, the research team analyzed electronic cigarettes sold domestically and found that when the temperature of the e-cigarette rises above 250℃, harmful substances such as formaldehyde increase sharply, and the concentration difference of harmful substances generated according to the heating temperature can vary by more than 1000 times.

The "Standard Electronic Cigarette Smoke Generation System," unveiled by the Safety Evaluation Research Institute on the 16th, is a device that can generate standardized electronic cigarette smoke regardless of the type of e-cigarette. By controlling the temperature that generates cigarette smoke and the gas flow rate, it is possible to compare safety regardless of the type of electronic cigarette.

The operating method involves heating the electronic cigarette in a temperature-controlled container, then blowing air through an air generator to produce electronic cigarette smoke. The high-temperature electronic cigarette smoke is then cooled to room temperature before samples are collected for analysis.

The research team analyzed the harmfulness of electronic cigarette smoke sold domestically using this system. The results confirmed that when the heating temperature of the electronic cigarette rises above 250℃, harmful substances such as formaldehyde increase sharply. They also revealed that the concentration of harmful substances generated can differ by more than 1000 times depending on the heating temperature.

Dr. Yonghyun Kim of the Inhalation Toxicity Research Group at the Safety Evaluation Research Institute stated, "This research is expected to contribute to future international technology commercialization and the establishment of test guidelines for electronic cigarette toxicity impact assessment," and added, "Using the standard electronic cigarette smoke generation system, we plan to evaluate the effects and harmfulness of electronic cigarettes on the human body under consistent conditions."

Schematic Diagram of Standardized Electronic Cigarette Smoke Generation System

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