New study finds toxic metals in e-cigarette liquids

A new study has found that popular e-cigarette brands contain high levels of toxic metals that could be potentially harmful to health.

Carried out by a team from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the research is believed to be the first to examine a cross-section of metals in multiple e-cigarette brands.

The researchers looked at five first-generation e-cigarette brands, all sold across the United States and with three of the five constituting 71 percent of total market share in 2015.

They analyzed the liquid in each for levels of cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese and nickel, which can be toxic or carcinogenic when inhaled.

When heated the liquid delivers the e-cigarette’s ingredients, which often include nicotine and flavors, to the user to inhale, referred to as “vaping”. In first-generation e-cigarettes the liquid is stored in a cartridge in close contact with the heating coil, which increases the liquid’s exposure to the coil even when not heated. Researchers believe that this coil is the main source of the metals.

The team found all five of the metals in all five brands analyzed, although the levels of each varied considerably by brand.

In the brand with the highest concentration of all five metals, the concentration of nickel — considered to be the most serious carcinogen when inhaled — was found to be 22,600 micrograms per liter, 400 times that of the brand with the lowest concentration of nickel.

The team also found that this same brand had a manganese level of 690 micrograms per liter, or 240 times that of the lowest concentration in yet another brand.

Commenting on the findings the study’s leader, Ana María Rule said, “We do not know if these levels are dangerous, but their presence is troubling and could mean that the metals end up in the aerosol that e-cigarette users inhale.”

“One of the things that is troubling is that the metals in e-cigarette coils, which heat the liquid that creates the aerosol, are toxic when inhaled, so perhaps regulators might want to look into an alternative material for e-cigarette heating coils.”

Although the Food and Drug Administration began regulating e-cigarettes last year it has still not yet issued warnings, with Rule adding that, “It was striking, the varying degrees to which the metals were present in the liquid. This suggests that the FDA should consider regulating the quality control of e-cigarette devices along with the ingredients found in e-cigarette liquids.”

Another serious concern is the rise in young people using e-cigarettes, as e-cigarettes might be habit forming as well as harmful to health, despite being marketed as a safer alternative to cigarettes.

E-cigarette use among high school students jumped 900 percent between 2011 and 2015, with another US study on e-cigarettes published this week finding that high school seniors who have never smoked a cigarette but who vape e-cigarettes are four more times likely to smoke a cigarette in the following year than peers who do not vape.

The news also comes just after Yale University released findings on e-cigarette use among teens earlier this week, highlighting the growing trend of “dripping.” Researchers found that one in four high schoolers who use e-cigarettes are now inhaling vapors produced by dripping e-liquids directly onto heating coils, instead of inhaling from the mouthpiece, possibly increasing exposure to harmful toxins and nicotine.

The findings can be found published online in the journal Environmental Research.