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Study finds potential carcinogens in vaping and smokeless tobacco products

Duke Health

A Duke Health study indicates a potential carcinogen is present in high levels in some e-cigarette and smokeless tobacco products. The study indicates that pulegone is contained in menthol and mint flavored e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. Pulegone was banned last year by the U-S Food and Drug Administration as a food additive because of its carcinogenic properties. The agency, however, does not regulate the chemical’s presence in e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. The Duke Health study suggests users of these products are exposed to pulegone levels higher than the FDA considers acceptable for intake in food, according to Sven-Eric Jordt , lead author of the study. Jordt notes the tobacco industry has been aware of the dangers of pulegone and has tried to minimize its levels in menthol cigarettes. The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine this week.

George Olsen is a 1977 Havelock High School graduate. He received his B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of South Carolina in 1982 where he got his first taste of non-commercial radio working for their student station WUSC. After graduation he worked about five years in commercial radio before coming to work at Public Radio East where he has remained since outside of a nearly 3-year stint as jazz and operations coordinator at WUAL in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the early 1990s. On his return to eastern North Carolina he hosted classical music for Public Radio East before moving into the Morning Edition host position and now can be heard on All Things Considered. He also hosts and produces The Sound, five hours of Americana, Roots Rock and Contemporary Folk weekday evenings on PRE Public Radio East News & Ideas, and is a news and feature producer for Public Radio East.
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