Image: © leszekglasner/Stock.adobe.com
A team of RCSI scientists has found that many of the chemicals in flavoured vapes were never intended to be heated at high temperatures for inhalation.
Scientists have identified more than a hundred “acutely toxic” chemicals that are formed when flavoured e-liquids are heated for inhalation in nicotine vapes.
By using AI to simulate the effects of heating all 180 known liquids found in flavoured vapes, a research team based in the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences identified hundreds of harmful chemicals – including a group of chemicals called volatile carbonyls that are known to be detrimental to human health.
Prof Donal O’Shea, head of the university’s Department of Chemistry and lead author of a paper on the study, said that the team wanted to understand the likely impact of flavoured vapes on the health of a growing number of vapers “before it’s too late”.
“Our findings indicate a significantly different profile of chemical hazards compared to what we are familiar with from traditional tobacco smoking,” O’Shea said of the paper published today (8 May) in Scientific Reports. “It is plausible that we are on the cusp of a new wave of chronic diseases that will emerge 15 to 20 years from now due to these exposures.”
Of the harmful chemicals found through the AI analysis, 127 were classified as “acute toxic”, 153 as “health hazards” and a further 22 as “irritants”.
Authors of the study, which was conducted with IBM Research – Tokyo, said that the variety of flavours – including 180 different chemicals blended in various amounts – add to the complexity of the issue.
While many of these chemicals are derived from the food industry where they have a good safety record for specific uses, they were never intended to be heated to high temperatures for inhalation.
“We hope this research will help people make more informed choices and contribute to the conversation on the potential long-term health risks and the regulation of vaping, which this research suggests should be comprehensive,” said O’Shea.
The study was supported by Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council through the SFI-IRC Pathway Programme for Dr Dan Wu.
Find out how emerging tech trends are transforming tomorrow with our new podcast, Future Human: The Series. Listen now on Spotify, on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
