According to a recent research, there is no passive vape !

Introduction


The research is one of the first detailed studies conducted to investigate the dynamic properties of exhaled e-vapour aerosol particles. The study entitled “Characterisation of the Spatial and Temporal Dispersion Differences between Exhaled e-cigarette mist and Cigarette Smoke” was a collaboration between Kaunas University of Technology in Lithuania, EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology), ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and Fontem Ventures.

Significant differences between emissions from the tested e-cigarettes and conventional cigarettes are reported. Exhaled e-cigarette particles are liquid droplets evaporating rapidly; conventional cigarette smoke particles are far more stable and linger. Therefore, there is no such thing as passive vaping.

Method


During the study, regular vapers used commercially available closed and open system vaping products while researchers measured particle concentrations in the surrounding air of a 37m2 room. Volunteers used the products at different distances from a heated mannequin, representing a bystander, and under different room ventilation rates. Aerosol particle concentrations and size distributions at the bystander’s position were measured.

The number of puffs and the interval between puffs were defined: for conventional cigarette, one puff every 30 seconds, total number of five puffs, and extinguish the cigarette in an ashtray; for e-cigarette, one puff every 30 seconds, total number of five puffs. The tests have been made at different distances between the vaper and the bystander (0.5, 1, and 2 m).

Results


Unlike for conventional cigarette smoke, following immediate exhalation, scientists observed a rapid decay and evaporation of the liquid aerosol droplets, with levels returning to background levels within seconds. This was also observed under no room ventilation conditions, representing a worst case scenario.

The duration of the increase–decrease episode was in range of 4–8 seconds, which corresponded to the duration of exhalation of the puff plus the time taken for the aerosol to reach the sampler. At a distance of 2 m, the impact of exhaled puffs was not clearly observable. This is likely due to the fact that the aerosol particles were not able to reach the bystander’s position once exhaled due to the dispersion in the volume of the room together with rapid evaporation.

By contrast, with conventional cigarettes, the particle number concentration returned to background levels after 30–45 minutes and was dependent on the exposure chamber ventilation rate.

Conclusion


" No accumulation of particles was registered in the room following subjects’ vaping. This shows us how fundamentally different exhaled e-vapour particles are compared to those released when smoking conventional cigarettes, the latter of which linger in the air for longer periods of time,” said Dr Grant O’Connell, PhD, Corporate Affairs Manager at Fontem Ventures, and senior author of the study.

Let's hope that further studies of this kind will reach our politicians' desks as they discuss the new LTab that will include electronic cigarettes regulation.

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The Sweetch team