es7b00710_si_001.pdf (1.02 MB)
Emissions from Electronic Cigarettes: Assessing Vapers’ Intake of Toxic Compounds, Secondhand Exposures, and the Associated Health Impacts
journal contribution
posted on 2017-08-02, 00:00 authored by Jennifer
M. Logue, Mohamad Sleiman, V. Nahuel Montesinos, Marion L. Russell, Marta I. Litter, Neal L. Benowitz, Lara A. Gundel, Hugo DestaillatsE-cigarettes
likely represent a lower risk to health than traditional
combustion cigarettes, but they are not innocuous. Recently reported
emission rates of potentially harmful compounds were used to assess
intake and predict health impacts for vapers and bystanders exposed
passively. Vapers’ toxicant intake was calculated for scenarios
in which different e-liquids were used with various vaporizers, battery
power settings and vaping regimes. For a high rate of 250 puff day–1 using a typical vaping regime and popular tank devices
with battery voltages from 3.8 to 4.8 V, users were predicted to inhale
formaldehyde (up to 49 mg day–1), acrolein (up to
10 mg day–1) and diacetyl (up to 0.5 mg day–1), at levels that exceeded U.S. occupational limits.
Formaldehyde intake from 100 daily puffs was higher than the amount
inhaled by a smoker consuming 10 conventional cigarettes per day.
Secondhand exposures were predicted for two typical indoor scenarios:
a home and a bar. Contributions from vaping to air pollutant concentrations
in the home did not exceed the California OEHHA 8-h reference exposure
levels (RELs), except when a high emitting device was used at 4.8
V. In that extreme scenario, the contributions from vaping amounted
to as much as 12 μg m–3 formaldehyde and 2.6
μg m–3 acrolein. Pollutant concentrations
in bars were modeled using indoor volumes, air exchange rates and
the number of hourly users reported in the literature for U.S. bars
in which smoking was allowed. Predicted contributions to indoor air
levels were higher than those in the residential scenario. Formaldehyde
(on average 135 μg m–3) and acrolein (28 μg
m–3) exceeded the acute 1-h exposure REL for the
highest emitting vaporizer/voltage combination. Predictions for these
compounds also exceeded the 8-h REL in several bars when less intense
vaping conditions were considered. Benzene concentrations in a few
bars approached the 8-h REL, and diacetyl levels were close to the
lower limit for occupational exposures. The integrated health damage
from passive vaping was derived by computing disability-adjusted life
years (DALYs) lost due to exposure to secondhand vapor. Acrolein was
the dominant contributor to the aggregate harm. DALYs for the various
device/voltage combinations were lower thanor comparable tothose
estimated for exposures to secondhand and thirdhand tobacco smoke.