Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Nov;31(6):1008-1016.
doi: 10.1038/s41370-021-00362-0. Epub 2021 Jul 8.

Estimation of the dose of electronic cigarette chemicals deposited in human airways through passive vaping

Wei-Chung Su  1 , Ying-Hsuan Lin  2   3 , Su-Wei Wong  4 , Jin Y Chen  3 , Jinho Lee  5 , Anne Buu  4
Affiliations

Estimation of the dose of electronic cigarette chemicals deposited in human airways through passive vaping

Wei-Chung Su et al. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Existing studies on the health effects of e-cigarettes focused on e-cigarette users themselves. To study the corresponding effects on passive vapers, it is crucial to quantify e-cigarette chemicals deposited in their airways.

Objective: This study proposed an innovative approach to estimate the deposited dose of e-cigarette chemicals in the passive vapers' airways. The effect of the distance between active and passive vapers on the deposited dose was also examined.

Methods: The chemical constituent analysis was conducted to detect Nicotine and flavoring agents in e-cigarette aerosol. The Mobile Aerosol Lung Deposition Apparatus (MALDA) was employed to conduct aerosol respiratory deposition experiments in real-life settings to generate real-time data.

Results: For e-cigarette aerosol in the ultrafine particle regime, the deposited doses in the alveolar region were on average 3.2 times higher than those in the head-to-TB airways, and the deposited dose in the passive vaper's airways increased when being closer to the active vaper.

Significance: With prolonged exposure and close proximity to active vapers, passive vapers may be at risk for potential health effects of harmful e-cigarette chemicals. The methodology developed in this study has laid the groundwork for future research on exposure assessment and health risk analysis for passive vaping.

Keywords: E-cigarette, Aerosol, Human airways, Respiratory deposition, Deposited dose.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
The schematic diagram of the Mobile Aerosol Lung Deposition Apparatus (MALDA).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
The experimental set-up of e-cigarette aerosol sample collection in the laboratory.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
(a) the number-based e-cigarette aerosol size distribution; (b) the mass-based e-cigarette aerosol size distribution; (c) the deposition of e-cigarette aerosol in the head-to-TB airways; and (d) the deposition of e-cigarette aerosol in the alveolar region (error bars represent one standard deviation)
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
The estimated deposited dose of (a) e-cigarette aerosol, (b) Nicotine, and (c) Benzyl Alcohol in the head-to-TB airways and alveolar region by distances (error bars represent one standard deviation).
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
The cumulative deposited doses of selected e-cigarette chemicals in the head-to-TB airways and alveolar region for e-cigarette aerosol in 10–130 nm through passive vaping at the distance of (a) 2 m, and (b) 4 m from the active vaper.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hiler M, Breland A, Spindle T, Maloney S, Lipato T, Karaoghlanian N, et al. Electronic cigarette user plasma nicotine concentration, puff topography, heart rate, and subjective effects: Influence of liquid nicotine concentration and user experience. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2017;25(5):380–92. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dimitriadis K, Tsioufis C, Kontantinou K, Liatakis I, Andrikou E, Vogiatzakis N, et al. Acute detrimental effects of e-cigarette and tobacco cigarette smoking on blood pressure and sympathetic nerve activity in healthy subjects. Eur Heart J. 2019;40(Supplement_1):e245.
    1. Kotoulas S-C, Pataka A, Domvri K, Spyratos D, Katsaounou P, Porpodis K, et al. Acute effects of e-cigarette vaping on pulmonary function and airway inflammation in healthy individuals and in patients with asthma. Respirology 2020;25(10):1037–45. - PubMed
    1. Cho JH. The association between electronic-cigarette use and self-reported oral symptoms including cracked or broken teeth and tongue and/or inside-cheek pain among adolescents: A cross-sectional study. PLoS One. 2017;12(7):e0180506. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kosmider L, Sobczak A, Prokopowicz A, Kurek J, Zaciera M, Knysak J, et al. Cherry-flavoured electronic cigarettes expose users to the inhalation irritant, benzaldehyde. Thorax. 2016;71(4):376. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources