Formaldehyde is a chemical found in many sources around us at home and in the workplace. In the past, the use of formaldehyde was common, but after the harm of exposure to it became known, its use was restricted and in some cases even banned.

After uncertainty, a scientific link was found between exposure to formaldehyde and increased risk of disease, and in 2004 the International Agency for Research on Cancer determined that formaldehyde is a definite carcinogen.

In 2015, researchers at the University of Portland reported that vaporizers they tested produced even higher amounts of formaldehyde than cigarettes.

But what they didn't bother to explain is that during the experiment they used unrealistic power levels and brought the devices to unreasonable heating levels.

These are levels that cannot be reached under normal conditions of use and the vapors that will be created will be inhalable.

In fact, if we bring any substance to its combustion point and it burns, the result will be carcinogenic, even if we leave toast in the toaster until it turns black, we will get similar results.

In 2017, Greek cardiologist Konstantinos Praslinos, who is one of the leading experts in vaping research today, reproduced the Portland experiment and proved that the vapor created by excessive overheating of the coil in an electronic cigarette is impossible for humans to inhale.

Praslinus concluded by stating that the experimental conditions were unrealistic and that people were unable to inhale these vapors.

In 2018, Praslinos, along with Gene Gilman, published a systematic review that analyzed findings from 32 different studies that dealt with the emission of formaldehyde and other substances in e-cigarettes.

The researchers discovered that all results indicating high levels of formaldehyde and other toxic substances were obtained due to flawed methodology, meaning overheating the coil to unreasonable levels and creating impossible conditions for inhaling the vapor.

They proposed setting uniform standards for future studies, which would take into account realistic conditions of heating levels, realistic inhalation pattern, power levels as seen in devices on the market, and coils that are currently in use.

The researchers also explained that the average person inhales about 1 milligram of formaldehyde per day, even if they stay at home.

The average e-cigarette user increases their daily intake by about 0.083 milligrams. This is less than 9% and probably not significant.

Links to the cited studies:

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2017.01119/full