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New research from Japan claims that e-cigarettes could carry 10 times as many cancer causing chemicals compared to traditional counterparts.

According to Business Insider, researchers found carcinogens like formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in the vapour produced by e-cigarettes. Formaldehyde is used for building and embalming purposes. Researchers said the amount of harmful chemicals seemed to have increased when the wire vaporizing the liquid, overheats. The revelation is bound to shock many e-cigarette users, predominantly youngsters, who took to it as a harmless substitute to traditional tobacco smoking.

The research was commissioned by Japanese health ministry. One of the researchers, Naoki Kunugita quoted by IB Times, said that they found 10 times higher amounts of cancer causing chemicals in one of the brands of e-cigarettes tested. Kunugita added that their research has pushed Japanese government to further study risks to regulate sale of e-cigarettes in the country.

E-cigarettes work by vaporizing liquid containing nicotine to produce effects similar to traditional tobacco, sans the smoke. In many countries, it is promoted as a safe alternative to cigarettes, drawing serious concerns from health organizations including WHO, which called for a ban on sale of e-cigarettes to children.  

A CDC report released in August mentioned that more than a quarter million youth who never smoked a cigarette tried e-cigarettes in 2013. The e-cigarette market is estimated at USD 3 billion.

"The Surgeon General has concluded that unless the smoking rate is rapidly reduced, 5.6 million American children alive today - about one in every 13-will die prematurely from a smoking-related disease," CDC reported.

Smoking costs US $ 132 billion every year in direct healthcare expenses even as 16 million Americans live with disease caused due to smoking.