Effects of Electronic Cigarettes on Indoor Air Quality and Health

Li, Liqiao; Lin, Yan; Xia, Tian; Zhu, Yifang

doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094043

Cited by 64 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 135 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Namely, the combustion of the liquid components to form a variety of potential toxins such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propanol, carbon monoxide, acrolein, o-methyl benzaldehyde, nitrosamines, limonene, radical species, and other chemicals coupled with inhalation of volatilized metal particles and metal carbonyl complexes 2 – 5 . Exposure to such compounds is associated with adverse health effects, such as the decline in cardiovascular health in smokers and potentially even to individuals exposed secondhand 6 , 7 . Numerous factors impact the extent to which these compounds form, such as the liquid composition, power output of the resistively-heated coil, puff duration, and the coil material and configuration 8 – 11 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-temperature (< 200 °C) degradation of electronic nicotine delivery system liquids generates toxic aldehydes

Jaegers

Weber

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Electronic cigarette usage has spiked in popularity over recent years. The enhanced prevalence has consequently resulted in new health concerns associated with the use of these devices. Degradation of the liquids used in vaping have been identified as a concern due to the presence of toxic compounds such as aldehydes in the aerosols. Typically, such thermochemical conversions are reported to occur between 300 and 400 °C. Herein, the low-temperature thermal degradation of propylene glycol and glycerol constituents of e-cigarette vapors are explored for the first time by natural abundance 13C NMR and 1H NMR, enabling in situ detection of intact molecules from decomposition. The results demonstrate that the degradation of electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) liquids is strongly reliant upon the oxygen availability, both in the presence and absence of a material surface. When oxygen is available, propylene glycol and glycerol readily decompose at temperatures between 133 and 175 °C over an extended time period. Among the generated chemical species, formic and acrylic acids are observed which can negatively affect the kidneys and lungs of those who inhale the toxin during ENDS vapor inhalation. Further, the formation of hemi- and formal acetals is noted from both glycerol and propylene glycol, signifying the generation of both formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, highly toxic compounds, which, as a biocide, can lead to numerous health ailments. The results also reveal a retardation in decomposition rate when material surfaces are prevalent with no directly observed unique surface spectator or intermediate species as well as potentially slower conversions in mixtures of the two components. The generation of toxic species in ENDS liquids at low temperatures highlights the dangers of low-temperature ENDS use.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-temperature (< 200 °C) degradation of electronic nicotine delivery system liquids generates toxic aldehydes

Jaegers

Weber

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…E-cigs have become a popular alternative to tobacco cigarettes, but the efficacy of e-cigs as smoking cessation aids remains inconclusive (Hartmann-Boyce, Begh, and Aveyard 2018;Malas et al 2016). A number of recent studies (Chun et al 2017;Polosa and Caponnetto 2016) have reported the potential toxicity of e-cig aerosols even though they typically contain lower levels of toxic chemicals than tobacco smoke (Li et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and nicotine on emissions and dynamics of electronic cigarette aerosols

Lee

Nguyen

et al. 2020

Aerosol Science and Technology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An electronic cigarette (e-cig) generates aerosols by vaporizing the e-liquid, which mainly consists of propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), and nicotine. Understanding the effects of e-liquid main compositions on e-cig aerosols is important for exposure assessment. This study investigated how the PG/VG ratio and nicotine content affect e-cig aerosol emissions and dynamics. A tank-based e-cig device with 10 different flavorless e-liquid mixtures (e.g., PG/VG ratios of 0/100, 10/90, 30/70, 50/50, and 100/0 with 0.0% or 2.4% nicotine) was used to puff aerosols into a 0.46 m 3 stainless steel chamber for 0.5 h. Real-time measurements of particle number concentration (PNC), fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), and particle size distributions were conducted continuously throughout the puffing and the following 2-h decay period. During the decay period, particle loss rates were determined by a first-order log-linear regression and used to calculate the emission factor. The addition of nicotine in the e-liquid significantly decreased the particle number emission factor by 33%. The PM 2.5 emission factor significantly decreased with greater PG content in the e-liquid. For nicotine-free e-liquids, increasing the PG/VG ratio resulted in increased particle loss rates measured by PNC and PM 2.5 . This pattern was not observed with nicotine in the e-liquids. The particle loss rates, however, were significantly different with and without nicotine especially when the PG/VG ratios were greater than 30/70. Compared with nonvolatile diethyl-hexyl subacute (DEHS) aerosols, e-cig particle concentration decayed faster inside the chamber, presumably due to evaporation. These results have potential implications for assessing human exposure to e-cig aerosols.

show abstract

“…Although labeled as "a safer t-cig alternative," studies have shown that the use of e-cigs can worsen indoor air quality and may adversely affect human health (Li et al, 2020b). In mainstream e-cig aerosols, mean particle number concentrations (PNCs) on the order of 10 7 to 10 9 particles cm -3 have been reported in chamber studies (Ingebrethsen et al, 2012;Fuoco et al, 2014;Mikheev et al, 2016;Zhao et al, 2016) and mean PM 2.5 concentrations of 184 µg m -3 have been reported (Lee et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the rapid increase in e-cig users, secondhand involuntary exposure to exhaled e-cig aerosols has become a serious public health concern (Li et al, 2020b). Indoor PNC of 10 4 to 10 5 particles cm -3 and PM 2.5 concentrations of 152-375 µg m -3 were reported in real-world studies (Czogala et al, 2014;Schober et al, 2014;Zhao et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport and Mitigation of Exhaled Electronic Cigarette Aerosols in a Multizone Indoor Environment

Zhang

Lin

Zhu

2020

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using an electronic cigarette (e-cig) has been shown to emit a substantial amount of particles and degrade indoor air quality. Here, we tested the effectiveness of different mitigation strategies to reduce indoor particulate pollution due to e-cigs. We simultaneously measured concentrations of particle number (PNC) and fine particle (PM 2.5 ) mass in a vaping room and an adjacent non-vaping room, both of which were well controlled, during e-cig use under six different experimental conditions: (1) the baseline scenario, in which the connecting door between the two rooms was open, the ventilation in both rooms was low, and no air purifier was operated; (2) the connecting door between the two rooms was closed; (3) the ventilation was enhanced in the vaping room; (4) the ventilation was enhanced in the non-vaping room; (5) an air purifier was operated in the vaping room; and (6) an air purifier was operated in the non-vaping room. We found that the particle concentrations significantly decreased in both of the rooms when either the ventilation was enhanced or the air purifier was operated. Closing the connecting door between the two rooms produced the largest reduction (42%) of PNC in the nonvaping room; however, it also led to a 26% increase of PNC in the vaping room. Previous studies have demonstrated that vape shops contain high concentrations of particles when no mitigation strategies are implemented. Our results provide a basis for assessing and reducing exposure to e-cig aerosols and its associated health effects in future studies.

show abstract

Effects of Electronic Cigarettes on Indoor Air Quality and Health

Cited by 64 publications

References 135 publications

Low-temperature (< 200 °C) degradation of electronic nicotine delivery system liquids generates toxic aldehydes

Low-temperature (< 200 °C) degradation of electronic nicotine delivery system liquids generates toxic aldehydes

Effects of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and nicotine on emissions and dynamics of electronic cigarette aerosols

Transport and Mitigation of Exhaled Electronic Cigarette Aerosols in a Multizone Indoor Environment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About