The concept of carcinogens is that certain chemicals are known to cause cancer. We can reasonably believe that products that don't have carcinogens won't cause cancer.
Some chemicals are known carcinogens. Many others are unknown carcinogens. It isn’t even known what chemicals are in e-cigarettes. To believe smoking e-cigarettes or vaping can not cause cancer is just dumb. Inhaling just about anything can cause cancer.
Are you assuming that vaping does not contain other carcinogens or that it does not cause other, possibly deadly, health issue? The issue is that we don’t know.
Yes, I'd agree it is worse, more concentrated and I would think the candy-like flavors in use would probably make the liquid much more desirable to kids to drink.
Smoking has been around since at least the 1700s, it wasn't until something like 1950 that we managed to link it to lung cancer. 15 years is nothing...
I'm not sure where to find numbers about the increase in lung cancer after smoking for only 15 years, but I know most studies look at people who have been smoking for more like 30 or 50 years...
Yes, generally the health community has been talking about a minimum of 20 years to get 'long term' data on the effects of vaping
Another problem they're dealing with is that we talk about vaping being one thing - in reality there are hundreds of companies with their own solutions. Of course there are some similarities in products and in the last few years Juul has come to dominate the US market, but other products (both the devices and the liquids) are of murky origin and quality. I was recently reading a study of a scientist looking into some devices and they found some contaminants that they didn't expect to be present at all that had no reason being there other than a use of cheap/incorrect/mistaken materials
Source: various, I've been researching tobacco control broadly for the last ~5 months as part of a project, if anyone is interested I can pull together some of the more interesting reports I've read
Indeed, we're far from knowing how safe ecigs probably about 5 more yrs until we know for sure, there's always a risk, but we're not anywhere close to knowing with certainty it's dangerous like cigarettes.
All early evidence is showing vaping is far safer... even 2nd-hand smoke with vaping is way safer (no evidence of transfer via 2nd-hand smoke during vaping tests meanwhile cigarette smoke lingers around and hurts people).
There was a reason this was a big deal because it was the first time showing a direct connection to being dangerous and now its again pointing back to a small subset of THC pens and those in the business of hysteria are trying to cover their bases.
Vaping hasn't been around long enough for us to see any long term effects similar to the ones caused by cigarettes.