IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i15p9334-d876225.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Transfer of Metals to the Aerosol Generated by an Electronic Cigarette: Influence of Number of Puffs and Power

Author

Listed:
  • Brian Rastian

    (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton, CA 92831, USA)

  • Chase Wilbur

    (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton, CA 92831, USA)

  • Daniel B. Curtis

    (Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Fullerton, CA 92831, USA)

Abstract

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are increasing in popularity despite uncertainties about their health hazards. Literature studies have shown that e-cigarettes may be a source of toxic heavy metal exposure to the user, but the mechanism by which metals are transferred from the e-cigarette parts into the aerosol plume that is inhaled by the user is poorly understood. The goal of this study was to quantify the potentially harmful heavy metals chromium, nickel, copper, and lead systematically during the simulated use of a mod-type e-cigarette in order to better understand the mechanism of metal transfer from the e-cigarette parts into the aerosol plume and into the liquid in the storage tank. Aerosol was collected and aliquots of the remaining liquid in the storage tank were collected from 0 to 40 puffs in 10 puff increments and analyzed with atomic absorption spectroscopy. It was found that the concentration of metals increased in both the aerosol and tank liquid the more times the e-cigarette was puffed, but at varying rates for each element and depending on the power applied to the heating coil. For copper, lead, and nickel, the concentrations of metals in the aerosol and tank increased with increasing power but for chromium, the concentration varied with power. Additionally, it was observed that chromium and nickel concentrations were greater in the aerosol than in tank liquid, consistent with the direct transfer of those metals to the aerosol from heating of the nichrome coil element used in this study. For copper and lead, the concentrations were similar or greater in the tank compared to the aerosol, consistent with transfer first into the storage tank liquid, followed by vaporization into the aerosol.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian Rastian & Chase Wilbur & Daniel B. Curtis, 2022. "Transfer of Metals to the Aerosol Generated by an Electronic Cigarette: Influence of Number of Puffs and Power," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-17, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:15:p:9334-:d:876225
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/9334/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/15/9334/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Naudia Gray & Mary Halstead & Nathalie Gonzalez-Jimenez & Liza Valentin-Blasini & Clifford Watson & R. Steven Pappas, 2019. "Analysis of Toxic Metals in Liquid from Electronic Cigarettes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-10, November.
    2. Konstantinos E. Farsalinos & Vassilis Voudris & Konstantinos Poulas, 2015. "Are Metals Emitted from Electronic Cigarettes a Reason for Health Concern? A Risk-Assessment Analysis of Currently Available Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Qutaiba M. Saleh & Edward C. Hensel & Nathan C. Eddingsaas & Risa J. Robinson, 2021. "Effects of Manufacturing Variation in Electronic Cigarette Coil Resistance and Initial Pod Mass on Coil Lifetime and Aerosol Generation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-11, April.
    4. Adam Prokopowicz & Andrzej Sobczak & Jerzy Szdzuj & Katarzyna Grygoyć & Leon Kośmider, 2020. "Metal Concentration Assessment in the Urine of Cigarette Smokers Who Switched to Electronic Cigarettes: A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-12, March.
    5. Zachary R. Dunbar & Ananth Das & Richard J. O’Connor & Maciej L. Goniewicz & Binnian Wei & Mark J. Travers, 2018. "Brief Report: Lead Levels in Selected Electronic Cigarettes from Canada and the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Adam Prokopowicz & Andrzej Sobczak & Jerzy Szdzuj & Katarzyna Grygoyć & Leon Kośmider, 2020. "Metal Concentration Assessment in the Urine of Cigarette Smokers Who Switched to Electronic Cigarettes: A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-12, March.
    2. Shilpi Goenka & Sanford R. Simon, 2021. "Effects of E-Cigarette Refill Liquid Flavorings with and without Nicotine on Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells: A Preliminary Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-15, November.
    3. Tae-Jun Ko & Shin Ae Kim, 2022. "Effect of Heating on Physicochemical Property of Aerosols during Vaping," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-13, February.
    4. Dominic L. Palazzolo & Jordan Caudill & James Baron & Kevin Cooper, 2021. "Fabrication and Validation of an Economical, Programmable, Dual-Channel, Electronic Cigarette Aerosol Generator," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-26, December.
    5. Qutaiba M. Saleh & Edward C. Hensel & Nathan C. Eddingsaas & Risa J. Robinson, 2021. "Effects of Manufacturing Variation in Electronic Cigarette Coil Resistance and Initial Pod Mass on Coil Lifetime and Aerosol Generation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-11, April.
    6. Charlotta Pisinger & Sofie K. Bergman Rasmussen, 2022. "The Health Effects of Real-World Dual Use of Electronic and Conventional Cigarettes versus the Health Effects of Exclusive Smoking of Conventional Cigarettes: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-23, October.
    7. Naudia Gray & Mary Halstead & Nathalie Gonzalez-Jimenez & Liza Valentin-Blasini & Clifford Watson & R. Steven Pappas, 2019. "Analysis of Toxic Metals in Liquid from Electronic Cigarettes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-10, November.
    8. Jianmin Liu & Qiwei Liang & Michael J. Oldham & Ali A. Rostami & Karl A. Wagner & I. Gene Gillman & Piyush Patel & Rebecca Savioz & Mohamadi Sarkar, 2017. "Determination of Selected Chemical Levels in Room Air and on Surfaces after the Use of Cartridge- and Tank-Based E-Vapor Products or Conventional Cigarettes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-21, August.
    9. Zachary R. Dunbar & Gary Giovino & Binnian Wei & Richard J. O’Connor & Maciej L. Goniewicz & Mark J. Travers, 2020. "Use of Electronic Cigarettes in Smoke-Free Spaces by Smokers: Results from the 2014–2015 Population Assessment on Tobacco and Health Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-16, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:15:p:9334-:d:876225. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.