Some of the most popular electronic cigarette stigma sell in the US are contaminated with bacterial and fungal toxins that can result in wellness problems , let in asthma , reduced lung function , and inflammation , accord to a late study .
One - in - five US adolescent use e - coffin nail products , exceed the report function of cigarettes , chewing tobacco , cigar , or hookahs . Though previous inquiry has examined the environmental and physiological impact of e - cigarette use in teens , researchers say this is the first study examining the potential for microbial taint .
Publishing their piece of work inEnvironmental Health Perspectives , Harvard researchers examine 75 pop east - butt product that were either undivided - use cartridges or refillable e - liquid . wholly , 37 cartridges and 38 eastward - liquid products used to replenish them were screened for the presence of endotoxin and glucan , let in smack such as tobacco plant , menthol , fruit , and “ others ” like java jolt , pina colada , and vivid vanilla .
They found that more than one - quarter of these product hold shadow of endotoxin ( or lipopolysaccharide ) , a toxin found inside bacterial cells that are released when the prison cell disintegrates . Clinical trialsshow that when endotoxin is yield in little amounts to humankind , it triggers a set of responses similar to those seen in on-key bacterial contagion , admit respiratory problems . Alarmingly , 81 percent of these products contained glucan – naturally happen sugar found in the cubicle wall of most fungi , plants , and certain bacteria and fungi – and has been linked to lung inflammation in tobacco user .
" Airborne Gram - electronegative bacterial endotoxin and fungal - descend glucans have been shown to cause acute and chronic respiratory effects in occupational and environmental options , " said David Christiani , senior writer of the study , in astatement . " find oneself these toxin in atomic number 99 - cigarette products adds to the maturate business organisation about the electric potential for adverse respiratory core in user . "
Typically found in agrarian products , endotoxin layer were higher in fruit - flavor products , show raw textile used in the production of fruity savor might be a author of contamination . Meanwhile , glucan was more often see in tobacco and menthol nip , while magazine sampling were shown to have glucan concentrations that were three times gamey than e - liquids . The researchers are spry to remark that the contamination of the product could have happened at any point in the production line , or even after the e - cigarette was end up . One surmisal is that cotton wool wick used in cartridges may be a germ of taint as endotoxin and glucan are be intimate contaminants in cotton roughage .
E - cigarette use has skyrocketed in recent age , particularly among high school and middle schooling bookman . Estimates suggest that more than 3 million high school student used tocopherol - cigaret last year – a 13 - fold increase from 2011 .
Limitations of the study let in the comparatively small sample size . Researchers say that further studies with larger representative product samples are needed to confirm the finding , as well as to identify generator and routes of contamination and to evaluate the wellness effects associated with contaminated products .
