China's E-Cigarette Boom Lacks Oversight For Safety: Report

Beijing: With 90 per cent of the world's e- cigarettes being made in China, health experts have warned that poorly manufactured devices can vaporize heavy metals and carcinogens alongside the nicotine, harming the users.This year, Chinese manufacturers are expected to ship more than 300 million e-cigarettes to the US and Europe, where they will reach the shelves of Walmart, 7-Eleven stores, gas station outlets and so-called vaping shops.

The devices have become increasingly popular, particularly among young adults, and yet hundreds of e- cigarette manufacturers in China operate with little oversight, The New York Times reported.Experts say flawed or sloppy manufacturing could account for some of the heavy metals, carcinogens and other dangerous compounds, such as lead, tin and zinc that have been detected in some e-cigarette

One study found e-cigarette vapour that contained hazardous nickel and chromium at four times the level they appear in traditional cigarette smoke; another found that half the e-cigarettes sampled malfunctioned and some released vapour tainted with silicon fibers.There have also been reports in the U.S. of e-cigarettes that exploded after a lithium ion battery or electric charger overheated, causing burns.

"We need to understand what e-cigarettes are made of," says Avrum Spira, a lung specialist at the Boston University School of Medicine, "and the manufacturing process is a critical part of that understanding."

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