What's really in your e-cigarette?

It’s common knowledge that smoking cigarettes is addictive, and this is because of the nicotine they contain. E-cigarettes are devices that heat up a liquid and produce an aerosol or spray which is then inhaled. If there’s nicotine in the e-cigarette liquid then this gives a nicotine hit. In Australia, nicotine is classified as a poison, so it’s illegal to sell e-cigarette liquids containing it, they have to instead be “nicotine free”. But while studying the potential health impacts of e-cigarettes, scientists have found that, surprisingly, out of 10 “nicotine-free” e-cigarette liquids, or e-juices, from Australian suppliers, only 4 didn’t actually contain any nicotine. So what does this mean for people using these products? Katie Haylor spoke with the study author, Alex Larcombe from the Telethon Kids institute in Perth.