It seems that propylene glycol, the primary ingredient in the e-cigarette cartridge, may be a powerful deterrent against pneumonia, and other respiratory diseases, when vaporized and inhaled. We all know that the swine flu is particularly dangerous for individuals with respiratory ailments.
A doctor called Oswald Hope Robertson of the University of Chicago’s Billings Hospital experimented with propylene glycol on lab mice in 1942. On 16th November the same year, Time magazine wrote "Dr Robertson placed groups of mice in a chamber and sprayed its air first with propylene glycol, then with flu pathogen. All the mice lived. Then he sprayed the chamber with the virus alone. All of the mice died." The analysts also discovered that "the propylene glycol itself was a strong germicide".
Additional studies in monkeys and other animals were undertaken to determine long-term effects, especially the potential for accumulation in the lungs. After a few months of treatment, no ill effects were discovered.
The researchers also found that "the propylene glycol itself was a potent germicide. One part of glycol in 2,000,000 parts of air would--within a few seconds--kill concentrations of air-suspended pneumococci, streptococci and other bacteria numbering millions to the cubic foot." Clinical trials on electronic cigarettes containing propylene glycol were carried out in New Zealand by Dr. Murray Laugeson of Health New Zealand. Far from posing a threat to our health, the propylene glycol in e cigarettes might just keep us healthy. Further studies are being done on the effects of propylene glycol to determine if it can be used successfully as a virus prevention tool. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the best flu preventative was right under our noses all this time?