Japan to evaluate e-cigarette safety after finding 10 times more cancer causing substance in brand

Japanese officials will investigate the possible impact of smoking e-cigarettes on health after it was found that a brand contains a cancer causing substance called, formaldehyde, 10 times more than conventional cigarettes.

The findings have re-ignited the debate over whether e-cigarettes are a risk-free alternative to tobacco smoking, as more young people take up the vaping habit, the Guardian reported.

During a study commissioned by the country's health ministry, Researchers at Japan's National Institute for Public Health said they had found two carcinogens, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, in vapour produced by several types of e-cigarettes.

The experts analyzed several cartridges of e-cigarette fluid using a machine that "inhaled" 10 sets of 15 puffs. One new brand of e-cigarette, whose name has not been made public, showed a more than 10-fold increase in formaldehyde levels in nine out of every 10 sets. The device produced 1,600 micrograms of formaldehyde per 15 puffs.

Health ministry officials acknowledged that the elevated formaldehyde levels found in a single brand of e-cigarette was not proof in itself that vaping posed an increased cancer risk.

Naoki Kunugita said that officials would evaluate vaping's possible impact on health before discussing whether or not to regulate the sale and use of e-cigarettes in Japan.