In a new piece written for the website The Conversation, Ilona Jaspers, PhD, speaks to the recent rise in cases of vaping-associated lung injury–and why vaping should not be considered a safe alternative to cigarettes. Dr. Jaspers, an inhalation toxicologist, studies how pollutants, inhaled chemicals and other particles affect human health. “When e-cigarettes first came to the U.S. in 2006, many smoking cessation experts were optimistic,” Jaspers writes. “They viewed the delivery of nicotine through e-cigarettes to be a useful alternative to traditional cigarettes. That is because e-cigarettes did not have all of the other harmful combustion products inhaled through cigarette smoke. Since there is no doubt that smoking traditional cigarettes is harmful to your health – and the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S. – e-cigarettes were marketed as a “safer” alternative.” Read more >>