I’ve been saying for years they’re gonna find some new and strange way vapes are worse for you than cigarettes

Some popular disposable e-cigarettes emit toxic metals at levels that surpass those found in traditional cigarettes and earlier generations of vapes, according to a new study by researchers at UC Davis.

The study, published Wednesday in ACS Central Science, found that a single day’s use of one disposable device released more lead than nearly 20 packs of conventional cigarettes.

Researchers also identified hazardous concentrations of nickel and antimony — metals linked to cancer, nerve damage and respiratory illness — in the aerosol emitted by seven devices from three widely used disposable vape brands.

“Our study highlights the hidden risk of these new and popular disposable electronic cigarettes — with hazardous levels of neurotoxic lead and carcinogenic nickel and antimony — which stresses the need for urgency in enforcement,” Brett Poulin, assistant professor of environmental toxicology at UC Davis and the study’s senior author, said in a statement.

Using a lab device to simulate 500 to1,500 puffs per product, the UC Davis researchers found that metal concentrations increased with use. Leaded bronze components and degrading heating coils were identified as major sources of contamination.

“When I first saw the lead concentrations, they were so high I thought our instrument was broken,” lead author Mark Salazar said in a statement.

Four of the devices emitted nickel and lead at levels surpassing safety thresholds for neurological and respiratory damage. Two exceeded cancer risk limits due to antimony content.

    • stink@lemmygrad.ml
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      7 days ago

      I got a really bad flu and became disgusted with my vape. Allah blessed me with that illness I’m now over a year nicotine free (I don’t count hookah every few weeks hehe)

  • isame [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    7 days ago

    Growing up, my aunt had a boxer. Beautiful, lovely dog. It died of the same type of cancer my dad did, bronchial. My dad smoked like a chimney and had since he was a literal child. The dog maybe encountered a little second hand outside, but no one smoked in the house. It lived on a nice little piece of land in the country.

    I’m not saying my vape isn’t giving me cancer. I’m saying everything is giving me cancer.

    • stink@lemmygrad.ml
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      7 days ago

      I found the study

      In brief, Pb, Cr, Ni, and Sb concentrations in all dPODs analyzed in this study exceeded those of the third generation MODs by up to 3 orders of magnitude and fourth generation JUUL aerosols by up to 4 orders of magnitude.

      The disposables that you can’t refill or recharge that have been rampant in recent years seem to be much much more toxic for you than a regular box mod or even e-cigs like Juul.

      I know Juul uses ceramic coils, that probably helps

  • DornerStan@lemmygrad.ml
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    7 days ago

    Disposables are so conceptually gross to me too. Like a whole ass battery in plastic, designed specifically to be thrown away after use??

    Especially because you can get a refillable/rechargeable for like $20.

    Regardless I quit a couple years ago because I still don’t trust regularly inhaling anything as unregulated and unstudied as juice seems to be.

    Probably gonna start using patches again because I’m desperate for something that helps with unmedicated adhd

    • FedPosterman5000 [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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      7 days ago

      I feel this. Every time I buy one I’m like “well if it’s disposable then it’s easy to quit!” edgeworth-smug Also for that little adhd dopamine too-off (which is such a struggle). I just got a little aromatherapy inhaler thing, and am hoping it’ll help - the hand to mouth action is such a stim for me, and this makes me feel like an essential oil girly 💅

      • DornerStan@lemmygrad.ml
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        7 days ago

        That’s a good point, the inertia of not wanting to throw away my nice vape definitely made it harder to quit a few times lmao

        You could also try chewing your fingers off like I do

        In all seriousness best of luck! I unironically got some heavy metal fidget spinners and learned a couple pen-spinning tricks. Between them they’re like 20% effective wrt the hand to mouth stimulus seeking

        I might try an aromatherapy inhaler and see if I can placebo myself into thinking it’s super potent focus drugs

        • FedPosterman5000 [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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          7 days ago

          I’ve been a little over a year without nail chewing for the first time in my life! But yeah I got a “don’t smoke” oil for it that’s basically black pepper and menthol, so it gives that good burn 😂

  • mrfugu [he/him, any]@hexbear.net
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    7 days ago

    I’m a chemistry nerd not a biology nerd but I find it hard to believe the health concerns of heavy metals really outweigh that of the tar, benzene, and other directly harmful hydrocarbons found in cigarettes.

    • imogen_underscore [it/its, she/her]@hexbear.netOP
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      7 days ago

      it’s for sure a clickbait title and obviously there is a bunch of other toxic shit in cigs. but i still see people acting like vaping is free and think they need to be disabused of this notion

      • mrfugu [he/him, any]@hexbear.net
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        7 days ago

        I agree the vapes aren’t harmless and that needs to be recognized. However I think this type of clickbait to be directly harmful if it convinces someone to use a product that’s actually worse.

        But again I’m not super confident on which is worse but I feel the benzene and tar wins in this case.

  • PalestinianDream [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    7 days ago

    personal story, was addicted to vapes pretty heavily from age 17 til about 25, only ever took maybe a year off total in that time. Tried quitting many times but always relapsed, recently i had quit in Ramadan but my dumb ass decided to buy a vape one night and after hitting it for an hour i started having severe chest pains similar to what i imagine cardiac arrest feels likes, the next morning the pain was horrible and i couldnt breathe. I was hospitalized for two days and diagnosed with pericarditis.

    recently got off the meds after 3 months and feel recovered, but it was incredibly scary and i have not vaped since and never plan to again.