Essential
- Disposable electronic cigarettes release large amounts of toxic metals such as lead and nickel after a few hundred puffs.
- An American study shows that they can be more harmful than old rechargeable models or even conventional cigarettes.
- Experts call for more regulations in their growing popularity, especially among young people.
Colorful, inexpensive and easy to access, “puffs”, these disposable electronic cigarettes, keep seducing young people. But what do they really hide? While they are presented as a less harmful alternative to tobacco, a new study, published in the journal ACS Central Sciencealert on their toxic metal content and their danger to health.
An invisible threat to new vapes
American researchers from the University of California in Davis have shown that certain disposable electronic cigarettes release, after a few hundred puffs, more metals and metaloids than old rechargeable models or even classic cigarettes. “Our study highlights the hidden risk of these new disposable devices, with dangerous levels of neurotoxic lead, nickel, chrome and carcinogenic antimony”warns Brett Poulin, principal author, in a press release.
The researchers tested seven models of three popular brands. From the opening, some liquids already contained high levels of lead and antimony, substances which come in particular from copper alloys containing lead present in the internal components. Once activated and heated, it is even worse: the devices produce up to 1,500 puffs, during which metal rates such as chrome, nickel and antimony increase.
According to scientists, some disposable vapingrs thus release “More lead in one day than 20 packages of traditional cigarettes” – A metal that has been regularly associated with severe neurological disorders. For their part, the concentrations of nickel and antimony SB (III), carcinogenic form, have even exceeded risk thresholds for cancer.
An unregulated market, an overexposed youth
Despite the absence of official authorization by the FDA (the American food and medication gendarme), these vapes are always available in mass in the trade. The researchers highlight the scope of the problem: they have only tested three brands among the existing hundred, but the results are already alarming.
For users, especially the youngest, it is essential to learn about the real risks of vaping, especially with disposable models. Experts call for more strict supervision of these products. “This highlights the urgency of enhanced regulations“, concludes Brett Poulin, which recalls that the long -term effects are still unknown.
