This report considers:
Chemicals to which people may be exposed from the use of e-cigarettes.
The health concerns about these chemicals.
The key findings of this report are:
The results of chemical analysis of e-cigarette devices and emissions available in Australia commissioned by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) were consistent with other reports in the scientific literature.
Many of the e-cigarette devices and liquids used in Australia are also available in other countries. There is no evidence that the e-cigarette liquids produced in Australia are substantially different from those found overseas.
Therefore, this report assumes that overseas chemical and exposure information obtained from publicly available, scientifically rigorous reports of e-cigarette devices and liquids are directly applicable to those available in Australia.
E-cigarette devices with higher power settings, mouth to lung (MTL) vaping, and dripping and squonking vaping may significantly increase chemical exposure relative to other e-cigarette use scenarios.
There were 243 chemicals identified from published scientific literature as ingredients used in e-cigarette liquids, of which 235 were flavouring chemicals. It is likely there are other flavouring chemicals that have yet to be identified as ingredients used in e-cigarette liquids.
Many flavours of e-cigarette liquids are available and the specific e-cigarette liquid used is a major determinant of the chemical exposure from e-cigarette use.
A number of flavouring chemicals used as ingredients in e-cigarette liquids are of concern to human health. Of particular concern are diketone flavourings, which have been linked to irreversible lung damage known as bronchiolitis obliterans or ‘popcorn lung’.
Emissions from e-cigarette devices contain carbonyl compounds formed as reaction products of the e-cigarette liquid used, and these compounds may pose a risk to human health. Although it is uncertain as to whether some concentrations of carbonyl compounds measured in laboratory studies accurately reflect normal e-cigarette use, e-cigarette devices are capable of producing carbonyl compounds at levels that may be of concern to human health.
E-cigarette emissions also contain contaminants mostly derived from the e-cigarette liquid but also from the device. The contaminants identified are metals, volatile organic compounds (VOC), phthalates, pesticides and tobacco-specific nitrosamines. At a sufficient concentration and exposure, the contaminants identified in e-cigarette emissions may have the potential to adversely affect human health.
The particulate characteristics of e-cigarette emissions and modelling of their lung distribution indicate there is significant deposition of these emissions in the alveoli.
E-cigarette use can cause acute (short-term) adverse health effects (to which nicotine may be a contributing factor), although the chronic (long-term) effects of e-cigarette use on health are unknown.