Study: E-cigarettes contain high concentrations of formaldehyde

(Image credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

E-cigarettes may not be a safe alternative to their traditional counterparts. New findings in a New England Journal of Medicine letter show e-cigarettes, when used at their highest voltage levels, can release vapor containing between five and 15 times as much formaldehyde as regular cigarettes.

Users who regularly expose their lungs to vapor containing formaldehyde would be at greater risk for lung cancer.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.