E-cigarette dangers: Some say vaping e-cigarettes is worse than smoking the real thing


Florida banned smoking in most public places more than eight years ago, but some 40 years after Gwynne Chesher started lighting up. "In 1965, everybody smoked, it was an acceptable thing to do back then."



"You just inhale like a cigarette," and began what some call 'vaping.'  "It looks like smoke, but its water vapor."

E-cigarettes are battery operated.  They have the look and feel of a traditional cigarette, without the smell, the smoke and the harmful side effects, say its supporters.  Chesher said, "I was really impressed."

Then her doctor weighed in.  "He was like 'No way! You can't use those!'"


Last year, The American Lung Association issued its own warning about e-cigarettes. "This is a buyer stay away, a buyer health hazard, potentially."

Doctor Robert Greene treats lung cancer patients at the Palm Beach Cancer Institute and said the product is potentially a health hazard. "There really is no information about whether they're safe or not, and that's part of the problem."


Ray Story said "To make that claim is obviously ludicrous."  Story is an e-cigarette distributor and CEO of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association. "At the end of the day when you look at an e-cigarette, is it addictive? Nicotine is addictive."

Authorities don't necessarily know what's inside of e-cigarettes, but the FDA tested a small sample just a few years ago and found a number of toxic chemicals including diethylene glycol - the same ingredient used in antifreeze.



Gwynne Chesher says she's decided to wash her hands of anything to do with electronic cigarettes. "I have no problem throwing them in the trash."


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