The flavorings used to improve the taste of electronic cigarettes may pose their own respiratory health hazards, the authors of a JAMA viewpoint article argue.

Food-grade flavorings, which are often used in e-cigarettes and similar electronic nicotine products, may contain respiratory toxins that the ultrafine aerosol delivers deep into the lungs. To further compound the problem, most flavoring safety ratings concentrate only on ingestion, not inhalation.