Vape users are inhaling ‘acutely toxic’ compounds that could cause ‘a new wave of chronic diseases’ in the next couple of decades, a new study warns.
Researchers in Ireland have used artificial intelligence (AI) to simulate the chemical reactions that take place inside flavoured vapes, also known as e-cigarettes.
They found that e-liquids – the liquid inside that gives vapes their flavour – contain a ‘cocktail’ of chemicals that produce ‘toxic’ compounds when heated.
Vaping has a ‘significantly different profile of chemical hazards’ compared with traditional tobacco smoking’, the study authors report.
While they don’t say vaping is more harmful than smoking tobacco, they’re concerned that new but unspecified health issues will result from the vaping craze.
A new AI study uncovered the potentially harmful substances that are produced when e-liquids in vaping devices are heated for inhalation (file photo)
Already, research has linked vaping with heart failure, lung disease and gum disease, although according to the NHS and health experts, evidence shows that vaping is much less harmful than smoking.
Vaping has become widely adopted as an alternative to traditional smoking with around 4.5 million people in the UK regularly using e-cigarettes.
The new study has been published by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), based in Dublin.
‘We wanted to understand, before it’s too late, the likely impact flavored vapes are having,’ said lead author Professor Donal O’Shea at RCSI.
‘Our findings indicate a significantly different profile of chemical hazards compared to what we are familiar with from traditional tobacco smoking.
‘It is plausible that we are on the cusp of a new wave of chronic diseases that will emerge 15 to 20 years from now due to these exposures.’
From menthol to vanilla custard and sour strawberry, there’s an estimated 40,000 vape flavours on the market today worldwide.
But according to the researchers there are just 180 known e-liquid flavour chemicals from which these flavours are derived, blended in various amounts.
This liquid flavouring in e-cigarettes is heated to high temperatures, so that it forms vapour which is then inhaled.
Left, a 3D representation of the chemical space occupied by 180 e-liquid compounds (red circles) and their chemical products when heated (grey circles)
From menthol to vanilla custard and sour strawberry, there’s an estimated 40,000 vape flavours on the market today worldwide
The original source for the flavourings comes from the food industry, where they have a good safety record for specific uses in flavoured drinks, pastries and sweets.
However, they were not intended to be heated to high temperatures and inhaled, the researchers warn.
The experts used an AI neural network model – a method that teaches computers to process data in a similar way to the human brain – to simulate the effects of heating e-liquid flavour chemicals found in vapes.
By examining all 180 known e-liquid flavour chemicals, the AI was able to predict which new compounds are being formed when these substances are heated.
Worryingly, the results showed the formation of many hazardous chemicals including 127 classified as ‘acute toxic’, 153 as ‘health hazards’ and 225 as ‘irritants’.
Among these, volatile carbonyls (VCs) – chemicals known for their negative health effects – were predicted to form in the fruit, candy and dessert-flavoured products, which tend to be most popular with younger vapers.
Vape packaging and flavours have become more and more attractive to young users. Pictured, vape flavours on sale in Lodnon
‘Our findings indicate a significantly different profile of chemical hazards compared with traditional tobacco smoking,’ said Professor O’Shea in a piece for The Conversation.
‘The huge array of flavours available in vaping products – made up of over 180 different chemicals blended in various amounts – is what makes their chemistry so challenging compared with traditional cigarette smoke.’
Earlier this year the UK government introduced the tobacco and vapes bill, which would give ministers power to restrict the flavours and promotion of vapes to reduce the appeal of vapes to children.
However, according to Professor O’Shea, his findings indicate there’s a ‘need for even tighter regulation – fast’.
‘Our study has uncovered something that, until now, has received limited attention – the potentially harmful substances produced when e-liquids in vaping devices are heated for inhalation,’ he said.
The experts think vaping appeals to the younger generations that have never smoked tobacco before, largely due to colourful packaging and little awareness over vaping’s health risks.
Flavoured vapes are an ‘attractive and common entry point’ and can even lead to a transition to smoking tobacco, research suggests.
Vaping is the inhaling of an aerosol (mist) created by an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette)
Jacob George, professor of cardiovascular medicine and therapeutics at the University of Dundee, who was not involved in the study, welcomed the use of AI in this way.
‘There are close to 40,000 different flavours in the market worldwide today and making sense of their effects will require a combination of techniques including automated mapping algorithms and creation of neural networks such as this,’ said Professor George.
‘While this study cannot give us definitive answers of the risks of flavoured vapes on human health, this study may be a helpful early step to identifying signals that could then lead to further, more in depth research into heat-induced breakdown of chemicals used in flavourings.
‘This study has combined artificial intelligence with previously known published information to predict that when heating a combination of chemicals in flavoured vapes there might result in a harmful toxicant being produced, and these predictions can then be tested with further studies.
‘There is, as yet, very little good-quality evidence of either safety or harm of these flavourings and so I welcome novel strategies as employed by these researchers.’
The new study has been published in the journal Scientific Reports.