Increases in College Use of Vaping and Chemical Exposure

HUNTER WELCH, Whitney Spaeth, Genny Carrillo, Maria King, Texas A&M University

     Abstract Number: 202
     Working Group: Health-Related Aerosols

Abstract
In February 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 2,807 e-cigarettes or vaping use-associated lung injury cases and 68 deaths attributed to that condition. There are thousands of chemical ingredients in vape products, most of which are yet to be identified. Vaping is associated with chronic lung disease, asthma, and cardiovascular disease. This study investigates potential deleterious alterations in ambient air quality and selected aspects of the health of college students where e-cigarettes are smoked and compare results to the air quality and its health effects on college students living in dorms/apartments without e-cigarette smoking. Using a model hospital chamber equipped with ventilation the wetted wall cyclone nanoaerosol collector developed in the team’s laboratory was used with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the spatial-temporal collection, detection, and quantitation of vape components collected in the exhaled breath of vaping volunteers and in the residual products left after the vape. The composition of the lung microbiome in the collected samples was delineated by Illumina sequencing. In addition, FENO by NIOX was used to measure airway inflammation and changes in biomarkers in response to the chemical aerosols. Identification of the residual products and exposure to them for vaping and non-vaping persons will help understand the health effects of the e-cigarettes. Findings from this study will have significant research, clinical, and policy implications by enhancing understanding of this profoundly important and currently understudied area concerning the most widely adopted and fastest growing alternative nicotine delivery products in the U.S.