Toxics (Apr 2020)

Chemical Constituents Involved in E-Cigarette, or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI)

  • Thivanka Muthumalage,
  • Michelle R. Friedman,
  • Matthew D. McGraw,
  • Gary Ginsberg,
  • Alan E. Friedman,
  • Irfan Rahman

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics8020025
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 2
p. 25

Abstract

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The Centers for Disease Control declared e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) a national outbreak due to the high incidence of emergency department admissions and deaths. We have identified chemical constituents in e-cig counterfeit cartridges and compared these to medical-grade and CBD containing cartridges. Apart from vitamin E acetate (VEA) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), other potential toxicants were identified including solvent-derived hydrocarbons, silicon conjugated compounds, various terpenes, pesticides/plasticizers/polycaprolactones, and metals. This study provides additional insights into the chemicals associated with EVALI cartridges and thus may contribute to the underlying disease mechanism of acute lung injury.

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