Estimation of Health Risks Caused by Metals Contained in E-Cigarette Aerosol through Passive Vaping

It is expected that secondary exposure to e-cigarette aerosol (passive vaping) will soon become an issue of public health. Passive vaping inhales e-cigarette aerosol containing similar harmful substances as active vaping. However, parallel studies on passive vaping are minimal. Therefore, there is a need for passive vaping-related health risk studies to assess the impact of vaping on public health. This research conducted a series of experiments in a room using a puffing machine and the Mobile Aerosol Lung Deposition Apparatus (MALDA) to study e-cigarette aerosol respiratory deposition through passive vaping. The experimental data acquired were applied to estimate the deposited mass and health risks caused by toxic metals contained in e-cigarette aerosol. Five popular e-cigarette products were used in this study to generate e-cigarette aerosol for deposition experiments. In addition, size-segregated e-cigarette aerosol samples were collected, and metal compositions in the e-cigarette aerosol were analyzed. Results obtained showed that estimated non-cancer risks were all acceptable, with hazard quotient and hazard index all less than 1.0. The calculated cancer risks were also found acceptable, with lifetime excess cancer risk generally less than 1E-6. Therefore, the e-cigarettes tested and the passive vaping exposure scenarios studied do not seem to induce any potential for metal-related respiratory health effects.