Teen vapers at risk of exposure to toxic metals, study finds

Teenagers who vape often may be at higher risk of exposure to toxic metals, which could harm brain or organ development, a study has suggested.

Sweet flavors in e-cigarettes could also pose additional risks, researchers say. American academics used responses from part of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study, which included American adolescents aged 13 to 17.

Some 200 teenage vapers were included in the analysis, published in Tobacco control. Of the group, 81 reported using it frequently, with 65 reporting occasional use and 45 reporting intermittent use.

Usage was determined by the average number of puffs per day, with frequent users taking 27 puffs, intermittent users taking 7.9 puffs, and occasional users taking 0.9 puffs.

Biomarkers in the urine were then assessed for the presence of metals such as lead, uranium and cadmium.

According to the study, frequent and intermittent e-cigarette users had higher levels of lead in their urine than those who vaped occasionally.

Frequent vapers also had higher levels of uranium in their urine than occasional users.

The study also found that different vape flavors affected uranium levels.

About 33% of vapers preferred menthol or mint flavors, while 49.8% used fruit-flavored vapes and 15.3% used sweet-flavored vapes.

According to the researchers, those who used sweet-flavored vapes had higher uranium levels than those who preferred menthol or mint.

Other factors

The researchers acknowledged limitations of the study, including that the presence of uranium in urine could be due to environmental exposure or dietary intake.

However, they said: “Despite the limitations, this study reported increased levels of lead and uranium in urine associated with vaping frequency.

“Sweet flavors could pose an additional risk of uranium exposure.

“E-cigarette use during adolescence may increase the risk of metal exposure, which could harm brain and organ development.

“These findings call for further research, regulation of vaping, and targeted public health interventions to mitigate the potential harms of e-cigarette use, particularly among adolescents. »

Professor Lion Shahab, co-leader of the UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group, said: “This is a well-conducted study highlighting the need to carefully monitor exposure of e-cigarette users and emphasizes the fact that electronic cigarettes pose no risk. free and should therefore not be used by people who have never smoked, especially adolescents.

However, he said the findings must be considered in context, particularly with regard to the fact that uranium exposure can come from a number of sources.

There was also no control group of teens who didn't vape included in the analysis, he said.

Shahab added: “This study therefore cannot tell us anything about the absolute increase in heavy metal exposure from e-cigarette use in this population, but only the relative exposure among users younger than in addition to electronic cigarettes.

“Since exposure to heavy metals depends primarily on the type of device used, future studies should determine whether there are significant differences between different types of e-cigarettes in order to inform regulators to restrict use devices that expose users to more heavy metals.

“The relatively small sample size in this study means that this question could not be investigated. – dpa