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Passive Vaping from Sub-Ohm Electronic Cigarette Devices
Maurizio Manigrasso1, Carmela Protano2, Matteo Vitali2
1Department of Technological Innovations, National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), 00187 Rome, Italy.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
|November 13, 2021
Summary
Sub-ohm electronic cigarette (e-cig) aerosol emissions vary with e-liquid composition and atomizer power. Higher heat fluxes can lead to increased volume concentrations and formation of larger droplets, impacting passive vaping exposure.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Aerosol Science
- Combustion Science
Background:
- Sub-ohm electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are increasingly popular.
- Understanding passive vaping exposure is crucial for public health.
- Previous studies have not fully characterized aerosol emissions from high-power e-cigs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate passive vaping aerosol emissions from sub-ohm e-cigs.
- To analyze the influence of e-liquid composition (vegetable glycerin/propylene glycol ratio, nicotine content) and atomizer power on aerosol characteristics.
- To determine the relevance of different aerosol metrics for assessing second-hand exposure.
Main Methods:
- Volunteer vaping sessions were conducted to measure aerosol number size distribution (6 nm-10 µm).
- Two atomizer types (double-coil and octa-coil) with varying power settings (25-150 W) and heat fluxes (130-398 kW m-2) were used.
- E-liquids with different vegetable glycerin (VG)/propylene glycol (PG) ratios (50/50 and 80/20) and nicotine content were tested.
Main Results:
- Lower particle number concentrations (NTot) were observed for nicotine-containing e-liquids at low heat flux.
- At higher heat fluxes, NTot decreased while volume concentrations increased significantly due to super-micron droplet formation.
- Higher volume concentrations were associated with the 80/20 VG/PG liquid due to VG vaporization and decomposition.
- Increasing power in the double-coil atomizer led to reduced volume concentrations for both liquids.
- Two main modes (1 and 2 µm) were observed in volume size distributions, indicating the emission of condensable decomposition products.
Conclusions:
- Aerosol emissions from sub-ohm e-cigs are complex and depend on vaping parameters.
- Volume concentration is a critical metric for assessing passive vaping exposure due to the formation of larger aerosols.
- The study highlights the need to consider e-liquid composition and high power settings when evaluating e-cig aerosol risks.
Keywords:
aerosolatomizer geometryelectronic cigarettepassive vaping exposuresize number distributionsub-ohmMore Related Videos
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