Latest news with #e-cigarettes
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Public warned to avoid e-cigarettes from two brands after EU health alert
The HSE's National Environmental Health Service (NEHS) is warning the public to stop using e-cigarettes from two differentbrands as they are wrongly labelled as containing no nicotine. The products, for which European Safety Alerts have been issued, were found to contain nicotine at concentrations up to 30 mg/ml, following analysis by the State Laboratory. The products involved are: McKesse MK Bar 700, blueberry, blackcurrant mango and blueberry pear flavours; and Bank Box 18000 Puffs, watermelon ice, strawberry watermelon and blueberry ice flavours. People can return them to the shop where they were bought and retailers have been asked to stop selling them. READ MORE HSE principal environmental health officer Margaret Ruddy said: 'In response to finding non-compliant and unsafe products on the Irish market, the HSE National Environmental Health Service will continue to exercise its full legal powers to protect public health, this includes product seizure, product destruction and prosecutions. 'Retailers should be checking both the products themselves and their suppliers' details before selling them on to consumers.' Retailers who sold or distributed the products have been told to display a recall notice on their premises or on social media.
The Independent
25-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
New toxic warning issued over disposable e-cigarettes
Researchers at the University of California at Davis found that popular disposable e-cigarettes are more toxic than traditional cigarettes, emitting higher levels of harmful metals. After just a few hundred puffs, some devices released neurotoxic lead and carcinogenic nickel and antimony, with one e-cigarette emitting more lead in a day than nearly 20 packs of traditional cigarettes. The study revealed that these toxins are either present in the e-liquid or leach extensively from components like leaded bronze alloy and heating coils. For daily users, emissions from some devices exceeded cancer risk limits for nickel and antimony, and health-risk thresholds for lead and nickel, posing risks like neurological damage and respiratory diseases. Despite most disposable e-cigarettes being illegal in the U.S., they remain available, with researchers emphasizing the urgent need for regulation enforcement due to the market outpacing scientific understanding and the high rate of use among teens and young adults.
The Independent
25-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Disposable e-cigarettes are more toxic than traditional cigarettes, researchers say
Disposable electronic cigarettes that are popular with teenagers are more toxic than traditional cigarettes, researchers cautioned on Wednesday. Researchers from the University of California at Davis found that, following a few hundred puffs, some vape pods and other e-cigarettes emit higher amounts of toxic metals than traditional cigarettes. One of the e-cigarettes they studied released more lead during the course of a day than nearly 20 packs of traditional cigarettes. In humans, exposure to lead has been shown to result in reproductive issues, high blood pressure, hypertension, nerve disorders, muscle and joint pain, and memory and concentration problems in adults. In children, it can lead to hearing problems, slowed growth, headaches, learning and behavioral difficulties, lowered IQ, and damage to the brain and nervous system. 'Our study highlights the hidden risk of these new and popular disposable electronic cigarettes — with hazardous levels of neurotoxic lead and carcinogenic nickel and antimony — which stresses the need for urgency in enforcement,' Brett Poulin, an assistant professor at the university's Davis Department of Environmental Toxicology, said in a statement. 'These risks are not just worse than other e-cigarettes but worse in some cases than traditional cigarettes.' Poulin was the senior author of the findings, which were published in the journal ACS Central Science. To reach these conclusions, the scientists analyzed the metal and elements that exhibit properties of metals in seven types of disposable devices from three of the most popular brands. The brands included Esco Bar, Flum Pebble, and ELF Bar. The brands did not immediately reply to The Independent's requests for comment. They activated the e-cigarettes and created between 500 and 1,500 puffs per device tested. The authors found that some devices emitted 'surprisingly high' concentrations of lead and antimony, that levels of chromium, nickel, and antimony increased as the number of puffs increased, and that most of the disposable e-cigarettes tested released markedly higher amounts of metals and metalloids into vapors than earlier and refillable vapes. Antimony is used in flame retardant, chromium is used in the production of stainless steel, and nickel is used in appliances and rechargeable batteries. Antimony is a hazardous substance that can cause dizziness, nausea, vomiting, liver and kidney damage, and a hole in the septum. Chromium exposure is also linked to kidney and liver damage, as well as respiratory cancer and perforated eardrums. Nickel can cause a variety of side effects on human health, such as allergy, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, lung fibrosis, and lung and nasal cancer. There are other chemicals in e-cigarettes that also may cause cancer. Then, the researchers took the devices apart, hoping to trace the sources of the metals. They saw that components in some devices that were made of leaded bronze alloy had leached into e-liquids in the cartridges and that nickel was being released from heating coils. Antimony was also in the unused e-liquids. 'We found that these disposable devices have toxins already present in the e-liquid, or they're leaching quite extensively from their components into e-liquids and ultimately transferred to the smoke,' Mark Salazar, a Ph.D. candidate in Poulin's lab and the study's first author, explained. For daily users, vapors from three devices had nickel levels and two devices had antimony levels that exceeded cancer risk limits. Four of the devices had nickel and lead emissions that surpassed health-risk thresholds for illnesses besides cancer, such as neurological damage and respiratory diseases. E-cigarette use has been tied to lung injuries, with more than 2,800 hospitalizations and 68 deaths reported between the summer of 2019 and February 2020, according to Yale Medicine. Although most disposable e-cigarettes are illegal in the U.S., they remain available. Last week, the Supreme Court sided with companies in a ruling making it easier to sue over Food and Drug Administration decisions blocking their products from the market. ELF Bar and Esco Bar have been the focus of Food and Drug Administration scrutiny. ELF Bar's website says it is not available in the U.S. and FLUM is illegal under California's retail flavor ban. To date, 34 tobacco- and menthol-flavored e-cigarette products and devices have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. The majority of e-cigarette consumers are teens and young adults, including 1.63 million students, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Like regular cigarettes, most e-cigarettes contain nicotine. Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm the parts of an adolescent's brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. Last year, however, use among youth plummeted to the lowest level in a decade. Still, the risks associated with using e-cigarettes remain, and young adults are at increased risk of lead exposure. The researchers noted that the market is outpacing science, heightening the need to enforce regulations around illegal e-cigarettes. 'Pediatric tobacco use and nicotine dependence are significant health concerns. Despite declines in cigarette use, youth still use tobacco products—including e-cigarettes—at high rates,' the American Academy of Pediatrics stresses.
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Disposable vapes release MORE cancer chemicals than traditional cigarettes, shock research indicates
Vaping, long touted as 'healthier' alternatives to smoking, may actually be more toxic than traditional cigarettes. Researchers at the University of California, Davis tested seven flavored e-cigarettes from three of the most popular brands and found the disposable vapes release more cancer-causing toxic metals than cigarettes. One of the disposable e-cigarettes studied released more lead during a day's use than nearly 20 packs of traditional cigarettes. The study's main author, Mark Salazar, a PhD candidate, said the levels were so high he 'thought our instrument was broken.' The scientists analyzed the metals inside seven types of disposable devices from three of the most popular brands, ELF Bar, Flum Pebble and Esco. Using an instrument to activate the disposable e-cigarettes and heat the internal liquid, they created between 500 and 1,500 puffs for each device. They found: After using a device to simulate the equivalent of up to a week's use, the team found they contained the heavy metals nickel, lead and antimony. The metals are used to make the devices' heating coils, which turns liquid in e-cigarettes into vapors that get inhaled. The metals then leach from the vapes into the liquid. Vapor from three of the tested devices contained levels of lead and nickel above cancer safety limits, and two had elevated levels of antimony - an element used in batteries and as a flame retardant. Esco Bars in particular were found to release four to 13 times more lead in their first 200 puffs than a pack of 20 cigarettes. This is the same amount of lead exposure as smoking 19 cigarettes in a single day. And four devices sold by Esco had levels of lead and nickel linked to respiratory and lung diseases like asthma and lung scarring. The researchers said while they only tested three out of 100 popular vape brands, the findings show concerning health risks for teens and young adults, who are most likely to use them. All three heavy metals tested are considered potential carcinogens, meaning they could cause cancer. And all have been associated with lung cancer, while lead has been shown to increase the risk of lung, kidney and brain cancers. Nickel has also been associated with nasal and sinus cancers. Though vapes are higher in these heavy metals than cigarettes, decades of research suggests cigarettes are still more dangerous because they contain about 7,000 carcinogens compared to 2,000 in vapes. Cigarettes have also long been proven to cause lung cancer, while research has not yet proven direct causation between vaping and the disease. Brett Poulin, senior study author and assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Environmental Toxicology, said: 'Our study highlights the hidden risk of these new and popular disposable electronic cigarettes — with hazardous levels of neurotoxic lead and carcinogenic nickel and antimony — which stresses the need for urgency in enforcement. 'These risks are not just worse than other e-cigarettes but worse in some cases than traditional cigarettes.' The study, published Wednesday in ACS Central Science, analyzed metal and metalloids - elements that have properties intermediate between metals and non-metals. Using a device to heat and activate the e-cigarettes, they made each one generate between 500 and 1,500 puffs. The average vape user does about 100 to 200 puffs in a day. The team found vapors from three of the devices - ELF Bar Flavored, ELF Bar Clear and Esco Bar Flavored - exceeded cancer risk limits for nickel. Meanwhile, Flum Pebble Flavored and Esco Bar Flavored exceeded these levels for antimony. And Esco Bar Flavored and Esco Bar Clear had lead emissions that surpassed health-risk thresholds for 'non-cancer disorders.' These include asthma and lung scarring fibrosis. Mark Salazar, first study author and PhD candidate in Poulin's lab, said: 'We found that these disposable devices have toxins already present in the e-liquid, or they're leaching quite extensively from their components into e-liquids and ultimately transferred to the smoke.' The CDC identified ELF as the most popular vape brand among teens and young adults in 2023 and 2024. And Esco Bars sold about $82million worth of products in the US in 2022, the latest data available. No flavored e-cigarettes are legal for sale in the US, though the FDA has authorized a limited number of unflavored ones. However, both varieties remain pervasive at convenience stores and through online retailers. Sales data reported by Reuters estimated $2.4billion worth of illegal vapes were sold in the US last year, which experts say is particularly concerning because they are not regulated or tested by any oversight agency so it's unclear what's in them. About six percent of US adults - about 17million - vape, according to the latest CDC data. And roughly six percent of middle school students and eight percent of high school students report vaping at least once in the last 30 days. While they have generally been considered a safer alternative to smoking tobacco and promoted as a smoking cessation aid, recent research suggests e-cigarettes may increase the risk of heart and lung damage. In a case study published this month, a New Jersey man died of what's thought to be the first documented case of lung cancer caused by e-cigarettes.
Daily Mail
23-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
'It feels like I'm breathing through a straw': Terrifying vaping warning after man suffers heart attack at 24 and has 'lungs of a 70-year-old'
A man who was left with the lungs of a '70-year-old' has urged people to avoid e-cigarettes at all costs, after doctors said his habit triggered the permanent damage. Jacob Temple, from Kentucky, first started vaping when he was just 12-years-old, under the impression that it was 'safer' than traditional smoking. But at just 24-years-old, the painter suffered a near-fatal mini heart attack and medics discovered his addiction had left him with lifelong scarring in his lungs. In a TikTok video, now seen almost 4million times, Mr Temple warned that he now 'feels like I'm breathing through a straw constantly' and warned that the habit 'almost took my life'. His case, which will undoubtedly alarm parents, is another example of the youth vaping epidemic, which experts have called 'disturbing' and demanded immediate action to stamp out. Figures show how the proportion of kids using e-cigarettes has exploded amid the decline of traditional smoking, with more than a third of 16 to 18-year-olds in the UK now regularly inhaling them. 'This is a public service announcement for anyone who is still using those electronic robot d**** to breathe in flavoured air. Stop,' he said. 'I now have the lungs of a 70-year-old man. All the small airway tubes at the bottom of your lungs, those are scarred up, permanently, forever. 'I can never inflate or deflate my lungs to one hundred percent, ever again in my life. 'It feels like I'm breathing through a straw constantly. Always. Just never getting enough air and there's nothing that can be done. 'The scar tissue is permanent. Please stop.' In a bid to tackle the surge in youth vaping, from June 1, it was made illegal for businesses to sell or supply single-use vapes, such as Elf bars and Lost Mary, in shops and online. Only devices considered reusable—with a rechargeable battery and replaceable coil—are now allowed. So popular was the move in Westminster that although the Tories drew up the legislation, Labour took it over and pushed it through after winning last year's General Election. Unlike smoking, vaping involves inhaling nicotine in a vapour rather than smoke, supposedly removing the two most harmful elements of smoking, burning tobacco and producing carbon monoxide. Because of this, health chiefs, have suggested that vaping is less harmful than smoking. However. the long-term effects of e-cigarettes still remain a mystery. Doctors have expressed fear there could be a wave of lung disease, dental issues and even cancer in the coming decades in people who took up the habit at a young age. According to the American Lung Association, inflammation from vaping can occur after just a month of vaping, as nanoparticles from the vapour progressively become embedded in lung tissue. Dr Ceclie Rose, a US-based lung specialist, said: 'Chronic vaping of these chemicals could lead to substantial adverse lung health outcomes in the longer term. 'We're very well-conditioned to taking a careful history for those patients who smoke, but we need the same to be true for vaping now too.' Steroids and inhalers can help manage symptoms like shortness of breath, but in most cases, a sufferer's lungs will never function at full capacity again. Other common symptoms include a cough, chest pain, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Mr Temple initially dismissed his persistent cough, but became increasingly worried when he started to experience severe abdominal pain. 'I had serious pains where my kidney and liver are. I was really worried that I had something going on with them,' he told the TikTok video. 'I would literally wake up sweating bullets and shivering and the whole side of my bed would be soaked, not to mention that I would wake up being unable to breathe completely,' he added. 'In my sleep, I would cough to the point that my lungs would fill up with air, because I could inhale fully, but not exhale. 'So I would breathe in air and not be able to get it all out and that would compound to the point where I had to either use a nebuliser or not be alive in the next five minutes. 'My blood oxygen level was at 80 per cent. I had a literal mini heart attack while hooked up to the EKG. I was 24—that should not be happening. 'It almost took my life.' It comes as research earlier this year found the high nicotine content in vapes increases heart rate and blood pressure, as it does in smokers, making blood vessels constrict and damage artery walls. British scientists discovered both smokers and vapers, who had similar fitness levels, suffered damaged artery walls that can no longer dilate—an almost certain sign of future serious cardiovascular problems.
