Gummi Bear, Tutti Fruitty, and Bubble Gum are just a few e-cigarette flavors. The Desert Research Institute recently discovered that they produce toxic chemicals during vaping. Reno Public Radio’s Anh Gray has the details.
Andre Khylstov is an atmospheric chemist who usually studies air pollution caused by car emissions. In a DRI-funded study, he discovered that flavored e-cigarettes produce significantly more harmful toxins like aldehydes compared to unflavored ones.
“It’s mostly for the smoker because those compounds are known carcinogens, and irritants," Khylstov says, "and so when you vape, you run the risk of developing cancer.”
Khylstov says the flavored products reach high temperatures during vaping and produce toxic compounds.
“All these compounds are FDA approved, but they’re approved for food consumption so they’re safe when you ingest them," Khylstov explains. "But they’re not approved for inhalation, and when you cook, it’s a different story than when you vape.”
Khylstov’s findings werepublished this month in a journal called Environmental Science and Technology. He says one of his concerns is the public health risk for young people. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports that about 16 percent of high schoolers use e-cigarettes.