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Filter Sample Analysis of Metal Contents Generated from Electronic Cigarettes and Potential Secondhand Smoke Emission
KAPIAMBA KASHALA FABRICE, Weixing Hao, Stephen Adom, Wenyan Liu, Huang Yue-Wern, Yang Wang, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Abstract Number: 101
Working Group: Health-Related Aerosols
Abstract
Electronic cigarettes (ECs) vaping has been on the rise since their introduction two decades ago. EC vapor (nicotine containing aerosols) is generated by vaporizing a liquid that contain, depending on the brand, propylene glycerol, nicotine and flavoring agents. Initially designed to transition tobacco cigarettes’ quitters, vaping was believed to have the benefit of eliminating secondhand aerosols and was safer for smokers. However, chemical characterization of aerosols generated by EC devices have revealed higher concentrations of metal nanoparticles that may lead to health complications. Moreover, though EC do not release smoke like tobacco cigarettes, people can still be exposed to secondhand aerosols, exhaled by smokers, that may contain metal species. To date, health effects of being exposed to secondhand e-cigarette aerosol is not well elucidated.
In this study, we characterized the metal content and size distribution of primary and secondhand aerosols generated by two brands of ECs (VOOPOO and blu). We collected the primary aerosols using a standardized puff profile and analyzed the metal contents on the filter samples using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results show that the mass of Cr, Ni, and Zn are 10.0, 19.5, and 26.1 ng per puff for VOOPOO EC, and 4.4, 1.3, and 1.0 ng per puff for blu EC, respectively. Secondhand aerosols were obtained by passing primary aerosols through a simulated respiratory system, which is composed of a series of filters that mimic lung deposition efficiency. In addition, we assessed metal contents as a function of cycles and found that metal emissions increase with EC ageing. Our findings provide more detailed understanding on the emission characteristics for assessing health effects of EC usage.