Measurement of volatile organic compounds from indoor cannabis smoking and vaping: Direct effects and secondary transport

Amirashkan Askari; Xing Wang; Rachel Ortiz; Patricia Di Ciano; Ahmed N. Hassan; Sergio Rueda; Chung-Wai Chow; Arthur W.H. Chan

Indoor Environments (Mar 2024)

Measurement of volatile organic compounds from indoor cannabis smoking and vaping: Direct effects and secondary transport

Amirashkan Askari,
Xing Wang,
Rachel Ortiz,
Patricia Di Ciano,
Ahmed N. Hassan,
Sergio Rueda,
Chung-Wai Chow,
Arthur W.H. Chan

Affiliations

Amirashkan Askari: Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E5, Canada
Xing Wang: Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E5, Canada
Rachel Ortiz: Institute for Mental Health and Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R8, Canada; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
Patricia Di Ciano: Institute for Mental Health and Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R8, Canada; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada; Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada
Ahmed N. Hassan: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada; Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, Canada
Sergio Rueda: Institute for Mental Health and Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R8, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto Canada, 1 King’s College Circle. Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
Chung-Wai Chow: Department of Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 3M7, Canada
Arthur W.H. Chan: Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E5, Canada; Corresponding author.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 1, no. 1
p. 100006

Abstract

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Cannabis smoking and vaping are emerging sources of indoor air pollutants, given the current trends of decriminalization and legalization across different jurisdictions. Secondhand exposure at the drug consumption site and thirdhand effects through the potential transfer of cannabis emissions to a secondary area, are of public health significance. Here, we present data from an exploratory observational study that examined emissions from cannabis smoking and vaping within a realistic indoor environment by analyzing the gas-phase composition of the indoor air. Additionally, we explored the transfer of emissions to another indoor space as individuals departed from the initial drug consumption site. We observed no significant (p-value < 0.1) difference across smoking and vaping samples regarding total primary and transferred effects. Primary emissions of light aromatics and some sesquiterpenoids from cannabis smoking led to median indoor concentration enhancements 1.5 to more than 3 times higher than cannabis vaping. On the other hand, vaping primary indoor concentration enhancements were comparable to or higher than smoking values up to a factor of 4 among monoterpenoids. Sesquiterpenoids and some monoterpenoids showed median non-zero concentration enhancements in the secondary indoor space, underscoring the importance of cannabis emissions’ thirdhand transport effects. The thirdhand transport was more efficient for semivolatile species, which have a higher affinity to consumers’ body and clothing. We observed a positive and significant correlation between cannabis cigarette weight change during smoking and cannabinoids enhancement in the secondary space. Vapers’ puff number was significantly and positively correlated with light aromatics enhancement in the secondary space. The correlation between the time spent within the primary smoking/vaping site and cannabinoids transport was significantly negative. These insights can facilitate the design and implementation of future projects to illustrate further cannabis smoking/vaping impacts on indoor air quality.

Published in Indoor Environments

ISSN: 2950-3620 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Public aspects of medicine; Technology: Building construction
Website: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/indoor-environments

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