Scientists say the tiny metal coils that heat the liquid nitrogen in e-cigarettes may contaminate the resulting vapor with lead, chromium, manganese and nickel. The finding raises the possibility that e-cigarettes are not harmless to users.
Full Answer
Do vaping coils leach toxic metals into eliquid?
You may have read, sometime last week, about vaping coils leaching toxic metals into eliquid. It was pretty big news in certain circles, and everyone from The Sun to Mashable decided to run with the story. And why wouldn’t they? It’s an easy story to write and it’s ostensibly for the public good.
Do e-cigarette users have high levels of nickel and chromium?
Their research comes on the back of a preliminary study they'd conducted in 2016, which had detected elevated levels of nickel and chromium in the urine and saliva of e-cigarette users.
What are the chemicals in vape juice?
Formaldehyde is another common vape juice chemical, pulmonologist Dr. Ravi Kalhan, a professor at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine, previously told Insider.
How many metals are in a vape coil?
In this most recent study, the researchers went straight to the contents of the liquid surrounding the heating coil, as well as the vaping liquid in the dispensary and the aerosols the device produced. They tested for a total of 15 metals this time.
Can you get nickel poisoning from vaping?
Vaping and Heavy Metal Poisoning Symptoms of poisoning can vary depending on the type of metal in question. Studies have confirmed the presence of several heavy metals in vaping devices including lead, nickel, chromium, and manganese, with the amount increasing in high-voltage products.
Is there chromium in Vapes?
E-cigarettes have gained popularity in recent years, largely due to their reputation as a safe alternative to conventional cigarettes. But these devices can expose users to toxic metals such as arsenic, chromium, nickel, and lead, noted Ana María Rule, Ph. D., from Johns Hopkins University, during her Jan.
Is there nickel in Vapes?
The team found that e-liquid exposed to heating coils produced a vapor containing significant amounts of chromium, lead, manganese, nickel and zinc.
Does vape contain heavy metals?
Studies of samples from users, including blood and urine, showed that e-cigarettes are a source of exposure to a large list of metals, including lead and arsenic. With the exception of cadmium, e-cigarette users had more of all metals studied in their bodily fluids than smokers did.
What chemicals does vaping expose you to?
Besides nicotine, e-cigarettes can contain harmful and potentially harmful ingredients, including:ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs.flavorants such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung disease.volatile organic compounds.heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead.
How does metal get in your lungs from vaping?
Doctors have discovered yet another way that vaping — and vaping THC, in particular — can damage the lungs: when the metal coils of electronic cigarettes heat up to turn e-liquids into aerosols, toxic metals can leach into the liquid, leading to a rare condition usually only seen in industrial metal workers.
How much nickel is in a vape?
17 gramsNickel (Ni) is the one metal that has a permissible daily exposure actually within reach for a determined vaper — 17 grams. Farsalinos and Rodu note that although that amount is about three times the average daily e-liquid consumption for vapers, it is possible to vape that much in a day.
Is there formaldehyde in vaping?
A recently published study shows that significant amounts of cancer-causing chemicals such as formaldehyde are absorbed by the respiratory tract during a typical vaping session, underscoring the potential health risks posed by vaping.
Can vaping cause a metallic taste in mouth?
If, after a puff of your vape you find that the flavor is off or has a metallic taste, your device may be encountering issues with its internal components. These issues can lead to foul-tasting vapor, excess coughing, and an otherwise unsavory vaping experience.
What metals are toxic when heated?
Other common sources are fuming silver, gold, platinum, chromium (from stainless steel), nickel, arsenic, manganese, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, lead, selenium, and zinc.
Does vaping affect iron levels?
Nicotine inhibits iron uptake but has little effect on the steady-state levels of transferrin. The effect is temperature and concentration dependent and is not reversible. At a concentration of 15 mM nicotine inhibited transferrin endocytosis by 40%, while iron uptake was decreased by nearly 60%.
What does vaping do to your brain?
Brain Risks These risks include nicotine addiction, mood disorders, and permanent lowering of impulse control. Nicotine also changes the way synapses are formed, which can harm the parts of the brain that control attention and learning.
What chemicals are used in vaping?
Along with nicotine, other chemicals commonly used in vaping liquid that are known to cause respiratory irritation and other side effects include: propylene glycol. methyl cyclopentenolone. acetyl pyrazine. ethyl vanillin. diacetyl.
What is vaping in a cigarette?
Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling the vapor from a vape pen or e-cigarette, which are two terms used to describe electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Amid all the controversy regarding their safety, some people looking for a healthier alternative have started vaping essential oils.
What is a vape stick?
Essential oils vs. essential oil vape pens. Diffuser sticks, also called personal diffusers, are aromatherapy vape pens. They use a combination of essential oils, water, and vegetable glycerin that, when heated, creates a cloud of aromatherapy vapor. Essential oil vape pens don’t contain nicotine, but even vaping without nicotine can be risky.
What is essential oil?
Essential oils are aromatic compounds extracted from plants. They’re inhaled or diluted and applied to the skin to treat a number of ailments. Products for vaping essential oils are still very new.
What are the side effects of vaping?
Along with nicotine, other chemicals commonly used in vaping liquid that are known to cause respiratory irritation and other side effects include: 1 propylene glycol 2 methyl cyclopentenolone 3 acetyl pyrazine 4 ethyl vanillin 5 diacetyl
Can vaping oil affect the long term?
According to Chiarito, the side effects of vaping essential oils depend on the oil used, and may include: The long-term effects of vaping aren’t fully understood. That’s even less so for vaping essential oils.
Can you heat essential oils in diffusers?
While people heat essential oils in diffusers at home for aromatherapy and to add fragrance to their surroundings, they’re not heated to a high enough temperature to cause problems. Essential oils can still trigger an allergic reaction, though, said Chiarito.
When did the e-cigarette come out?
By 2006, e-cigarettes had arrived in Europe and the U.S. Within just a few years, their popularity boomed, thanks to what Kennedy calls “clever, effective advertisements” and celebrity placements. In 2010, vaping revenues in the U.S. alone were estimated at $416 million. By 2015, that number had soared to $3.2 billion. Market projections estimate that the global e-cigarette market will be worth upward of $44 billion by 2024.
Do e-cigarettes have a long term effect?
Cohen, Kennedy and others now must translate the results from Rule’s lab and others around the world into recommendations for policy that will balance e-cigarettes’ potential benefits as stop-smoking aids with their risks. The long-term consequences remain uncertain. And a new study from scientists at the University of Pittsburgh found that half of teens who had vaped for more than 18 months switched to tobacco cigarettes during the study period.
What does the study say?
The study was conducted at Johns Hopkins University in the United States and measured the vaping devices of 56 everyday vapers.
Health risks
A lot of the discussion around the study concerns itself with the level of harm that these toxic metals pose to humans. A press release issued with the study claimed that such levels “approached or exceeded safe limits,” a claim that subsequent reporting seemed eager to pick up on.
Where the news falls short
The trouble starts when we apply standard limits for ambient air to e-cigarette vapour. Because anyone who’s ever vaped, seen someone vaping, or heard of vaping, knows that vape users don’t breathe eliquid vapour exclusively (hopefully).
A few grains of salt
Remember the PHE study from earlier this year? Where they suggested putting vaping on the NHS? That study claimed that vaping was 95% less dangerous than smoking traditional tobacco.
Looking forward
With further study and as vaping grows in popularity, we can chip away at that 5%. Toxic metals in e-cigarette vapour, at any concentration, aren’t ideal; and with the release of this study it’s likely that we’ll see more innovation going into ceramic coils and safer alloys. So the vaping industry is moving forward thanks to studies like this.
Number of puffs in a row, device temperature and oil acidity determine rate of leaching
According to the study, the rate of leaching can vary depending on time, temperature and oil acidity. Cannabis concentrates used for vaping oil are highly acidic, which increases the metal leaching rate. If left for months, the metals leach into the concentrate, even without heat and while under ambient storage conditions.
Terpenes reduce metal content by cooling down devices or preventing leaching
Terpenated samples contained lower levels of metal than non-terpenated oils. Therefore, the difference in terpene content or the presence of other thinning agents could be a factor in metal leaching.
Coils And Resistance
Coils are responsible for transferring the electricity from the battery to the atomiser, where it is heated up and vaporised. The coil can be shaped into a range of lengths and gauges, which determine how much resistance it applies to the electrical system.
Nickel
There are a broad variety of nickel coil alloys out there, one of the most popular of which is Ni200 wires. These coils are best used on temperature control devices but are unsuitable for variable current vaporisers. Make sure not to dry hit on these too often either, as this can really damage the nickel.
Nichrome
This mix of nickel (20%) and chromium (80%) is quick to heat up and resistant against metal oxidation. Only suitable for variable wattage devices, nichrome produces a warm, sumptuous vapour.
Kanthal
This metal superalloy is made of iron, chromium and aluminium, and is one of the most popular coils in vape shops in London for DIY vaping and builds. Only suitable in variable wattage devices, and with a slightly slower heat up time than some, kanthal’s merits lie in the fact that it has a malleability perfect for your own coil builds.
Titanium
Titanium is a flexible coil that is primed for DIY vape builds. Producing an especially smooth vape hit, and because of titanium flammability, is best used on temperature control devices, especially those that provide a TC Ti vaping mode.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel vape mods are the most diverse on the market because of the different “grades” you can buy them in. 430 graded stainless steel is the most interesting of the collection, with it being magnetic and the most durable of the lot.
Ceramic
Made from a porous material, the smooth draw of ceramic coils means that you’ll get more flavour and larger vape clouds. This makes them perfect for high powered and sub-ohm mods, giving an airier vape hit that keeps large inhales cool on the throat, and minimise dry hits.
How do e-cigarettes produce aerosols?
E-cigarettes produce an aerosol by heating the e-liquid with metal coils. Those metal coils can be composed of a variety of substances, including an alloy of iron, chromium and aluminum called kanthal, or a combination of nickel and chromium.
What is the condition that a woman developed after vaping?
And a 2012 case report involved a woman who developed a condition called exogenous lipoid pneumonia after vaping for about six months. Doctors said her e-cigarette's oil-based solvents were the likely cause, and her condition improved when she quit vaping.
What are the main components of an e-cigarette?
The main components. E-cigarette liquids, at the bare minimum, have three main components: flavors, sweeteners and solvents. Solvents are substances used to dissolve either nicotine or marijuana-derived compounds including THC or CBD so those ingredients can be inhaled.
What are the ingredients in e-liquid?
Sweeteners include sucralose and ethyl maltol. E-liquid flavors are wide-ranging, and can read like a wine tasting: "notes of vanilla" or "berries and herbal notes.". All of those ingredients — the solvents, the sweeteners and the flavors — are considered "generally recognized as safe" by the Food and Drug Administration.
What are the elements that make up an aerosol?
Those metal coils can be composed of a variety of substances, including an alloy of iron, chromium and aluminum called kanthal, or a combination of nickel and chromium.
What is the chemical in vanilla bean?
One recent study from Yale University found that vanillin — an extract of the vanilla bean — transforms into chemicals called acetals when aerosolized. Those chemicals, the researchers said, may be especially irritating to the lungs and cause damage when inhaled.
Is vaping a cause of pneumonia?
Hundreds of people nationwide have been hospitalized recently with severe cases of pneumonia or other lung illnesses — all believed to be directly linked to vaping. Investigators have not been able to pinpoint the exact cause. But here's what's known about what has been found inside vaping devices.
How many deaths from vaping in the US?
As of September 17, the CDC reported 530 cases of vaping -related illnesses in 38 states and confirmed seven deaths in six states. On September 11, the Trump administration announced it's pushing forward a ban on all flavored e-cigarettes, including mint and menthol flavors, across the US. Health experts have been unable to pinpoint ...
Is vaping bad for you?
As vaping-related lung illnesses continue to lead to hospitalizations, medically induced comas, and even deaths across the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning people about the risks of using e- cigarette devices, both with tobacco and cannabis products.
Can vaping cause nausea?
Vomiting and nausea after vaping are also symptoms of nicotine poisoning, according to DrugWatch.
Can vaping cause throat irritation?
The chemicals in vape juices, the liquid that's heated to a vapor for users to inhale, is laden with various chemicals, many which are known to cause throat irritation. As a result, a user might develop a chronic cough if they develop a vaping habit.
Is vaping dangerous?
"It is at this point very clear that vaping is not only unhealthy, but it is very dangerous.
Can vaping cause lung damage?
Vaping has also been shown to cause irreparable lung damage, which could making breathing more difficult. In fact, many of the people who have been recently hospitalized after vaping were also put on life support because they couldn't breath on their own.
Does vaping cause coughing?
As a result, a user might develop a chronic cough if they develop a vaping habit. Namely, propylene glycol, which is used to turn liquid vape juice molecules into vapors, is a known throat irritant, Insider previously reported.