Temptation of risky DIY E-cigarettes

Shin, a 38-year-old man who has smoked cigarettes for 18 years, recently bought an e-cigarette because smoking is banned in large restaurants and bars from early this month. So he decided to use e-cigarettes.

It is not affordable, however. An e-cigarette, which vaporizes liquid containing nicotine or liquid that smells like a cigarette, costs 70,000 won (62.8 US dollars) to 100,000 won (89.8 dollars). A refill liquid bottle costs 40,000 won (35.9 dollars) to 50,000 won (44.9 dollars).

After reading a post that DIY e-liquid much cheaper from an e-cigarette users’ blog, Shin decided to buy ingredients and make it by himself. He searched the Internet to find how to buy them and make the liquid. Then, he ordered ingredients from a global website.

As smoking is prohibited in large restaurants and bars from this month, following Internet cafes last month, more smokers are turning to e-cigarettes. How to make DIY e-liquid is spread fast online among many e-cigarette smokers. Even it contains a list of global websites that sell undiluted state nicotine which cannot be purchased in Korea because there is no producer.

DIY e-liquid is a mix of undiluted state nicotine, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin. The riskiest ingredient is undiluted nicotine, also called “pure nicotine.” One can buy it at 20 to 30 dollars in global websites and can make hundreds of bottles of e-liquid with a 20 milliliter bottle of pure nicotine. Pure nicotine has 100 milligrams of nicotine per one milliliter solution. It is more toxic than a cigarette which contains only 0.1 to 1 milligram.

A U.S. liquid website that this reporter accessed sold the ingredient without an adult verification process. A blogger wrote that he bought the undiluted solution of 1,000 milligrams per one milliliter, which is an equivalent of the undiluted poisonous liquid. Mixing ratios were different depending on sources on the Internet.

Experts say the lethal dose of nicotine is 30 to 40 milligrams, an amount that can kill a person if it is in the body. If the general public purchase nicotine and mix ingredients based on an unverified method, it can lead to a deadly result. Lee Chul-min, a medical professor at the Gangnam Center of Seoul National University Hospital Healthcare System, said, “Inhaling a large dose of nicotine can cause arrhythmia and kill a person.” Kim Chul-hwan, a medical professor at Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital, said, “Most nicotine sold in global websites is unverified and is often times industrial nicotine.”

Another concern is that deadly pure nicotine cannot be filtered while it is imported to Korea. A Customs Office source said, “There is no specific regulation on the importable concentration level of nicotine.”

Many smokers think that they can smoke in the non-smoking areas including restaurants because e-cigarettes do not have a huge impact of indirect smoking, but it is wrong. A Health Ministry source said, “Although there is no concern about indirect smoking, e-cigarettes can make people want to smoke. Therefore, smoking e-cigarettes in non-smoking areas will be cracked down.” E-cigarettes, which one inhales cigarette smell without nicotine will be exempt from the crackdown because they do not fall under the category of cigarettes.

The problem is that one cannot easily discern e-cigarettes with nicotine from those without nicotine only with appearance and smell. It is not easy to crack down on smokers in non-smoking areas unless they are not tested with nicotine test reagents.