this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2025
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[–] [email protected] 66 points 3 days ago (5 children)

TL;DR: Small study of only 3 out of 100 brands on the market, so limited inference can be drawn but cheap construction leaches toxic substances into the liquid in ways that older non-disposable vapes don't. In terms of health risk non-disposable vapes are best followed by a tie between traditional cigarettes and disposable vapes.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 3 days ago

Most of the disposable e-cigarettes tested released markedly higher amounts of metals and metalloids into vapors than earlier, refillable vapes.

Yeah, seems to be an issue with a lack of commercial regulation than with the inherent technology itself. I am usually skeptical of any study toting cigarettes as the "safer" option, however this kinda keeps in pace with our society's rapid devolution back to industrial age regulatory standards.

Industry's regulatory and judicial capture seems to rear it ugly head once again at the expense of the public's health.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

The particular brands are Elf Bar, Flum, and EscoBar

Edit addendum: heavy metals supposedly came from non heating elements

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago

Holy shit they really named a vape brand after Pablo Escobar?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 days ago

And those three "brands" are all from the same company, who most certainly just gets them from SE Asia, they probably all come out of the exact same sweatshop.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 days ago

Pretty sure all three of those brands are owned by the same company too.

Also they might leach more metals, but they still don't produce the other known carcinogens in cigarettes.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago

In terms of health risk, not intentionally putting chemicals into your lungs that haven't been prescribed by a doctor is best, but non-disposable vapes are a good harm reduction strategy for those who can't get out of the compulsive habit.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago

The scientists analyzed the metal and metalloids inside seven types of disposable devices from three of the most popular brands. Using an instrument to activate the disposable e-cigarettes and heat the internal liquid, they created between 500 and 1,500 puffs for each device. They found:

  • Some devices emitted surprisingly high concentrations of elements in the vapor, including antimony and lead.
  • Levels of chromium, nickel and antimony increased as the number of puffs increased.
  • Most of the disposable e-cigarettes tested released markedly higher amounts of metals and metalloids into vapors than earlier, refillable vapes.

The scientists then took apart the devices to trace the sources of the metals.

“We found that these disposable devices have toxins already present in the e-liquid, or they’re leaching quite extensively from their components into e-liquids and ultimately transferred to the smoke,” Salazar said.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago

The American mind yearns for the lead.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Look at all of y’all defending vapes 😂 your lungs are gonna be toast.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Anecdotal, but as someone who has used vapes and smoked cigarettes since well before Juuls and the modern disposable market existed, I feel infinitely healthier vaping even modern disposables than I ever did smoking cigarettes.

If I were to guess at whether I was verifiably healthier now using only dispos, versus back when I smoked half a pack or more per day, my guess would be that I am far healthier now than I ever was then

Im open to being proven wrong, and obviously the best thing would be not to smoke at all, but as far as harm reduction goes Im still of the opinion that smoking cigarettes must be far worse. At least assuming you dont smoke well past the safe point of running out of liquid and just inhale straight coil. A lot of these reviews seem dubious to me in that they probably run the device differently than it is actually used by a vaper. Running past safe points of juice, running hotter than your lungs would ever be comfortable with etc. Just like how studies of cigs would have a pseudo-human device chain smoke without accounting for the ability of the lungs to clean themselves up over time. Or just time in general. How is a robot smoking 1000x straight the same as a human having 1000 darts over multiple months? That kind of thing

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago

I know of at least a couple of earlier e-cig studies that fired the coils until the tank internals literally started to melt (i believe they were 60 second long 'puffs') and give off toxins. They then used this flawed data to claim that vaping normally would expose you to these compounds. Outside of old ancient mechanical mods, most every device times out after 10 seconds and even if they didn't, no person would ever come close to a 60 second (nor even 10 seconds) long drag as the vapor temperature would burn the shit out of your throat long before that and people's lungs aren't large enough to inhale for that long.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago (3 children)

It is true that vaping does’t have the immediate and perceivable negative effects on your body that cigarettes have. However, inhaling chemicals into your lungs is just clearly a bad idea. Metals? Wow yeah that makes your brain dumb. Have you noticed the mental decline around you? I sure have.

I used to smoke. Then I went to “ecigs.” Then the mints… and now I just do other drugs haha. I’m not going to tell someone not to do what they want to their body… but they should be honest, and educated about their choices—and not just making up excuses and ignoring medical science.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Im not making excuses, Im saying there are nuances to the use of, and therefore proper testing of, the device.

I used to make my own coils back in the day when there were juice bar shops. If you build a robust enough coil then the coil will well outlast the life of the cotton you put in it. Therefore theoretically the coil will not be heating up or being heated enough times to where the coil releasing metal particulate is a concern. If you build a flimsy coil and heat it up too high, or use it for too long past a reasonable lifetime, or run it dry, then youre going to be inhaling metal particulate as it breaks from the coil.

Therefore, if while testing these disposable devices they are just running the thing hot and fast as a matter of testing, then the results will show significantly more metal in the vapor than would have ever been there under normal use. And most places testing vapes dont care if their methods make it look worse than it actually is, because, just like with smoking, they get way more attention in pointing out how bad it is for you (in comparison to more middling perspectives that paint it as safer than smoking)

The most dangerous thing in the world of vaping rn IMO are weed cartridges and disposables. The “coil” in those is just the thinest piece of kanthal you can imagine. What makes it dangerous is that people have popularized taking “blinkers”, or running the device out to its 10 second safety limit point. They think its a safety for weed inhalation, but its quite the opposite. Its a safety to prevent that tiny wire from blowing itself out. More blinkers = more kanthal particulate that youre inhaling instead of weed. The device will keep going so long as two nubs of that wire can still make contact somehow, even if youve already blown out some of the wire

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

I assume you did your own Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry and so you know what you’re talking about? Because, ya know, evidence and science.

But if you didn’t it’s totally cool to just say “I don’t actually care, I like to do it” and I’ll be 100% on your side.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

How can you talk about "ignoring science" while making claims like "inhaling chemicals into your lungs is just clearly a bad idea?" You may want to look up a basic definition of "chemical."

Just because someone in the medical field conducts a study and publishes it doesn't mean they're correct or that their findings should automatically be taken as truth. That's literally what science is, questioning everything. Medical science also told us that the cure for mental illness was to scrape out parts of people's frontal lobe or shock their brain with thousands of volts of electricity and we can see how that turned out.

Nicotine usage is such a polarizing topic that gets lots of money flowing in from both sides with both sides expecting favorable results, so I absolutely take every one of these studies with a grain of salt.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

How do you feel about vaccines?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Just fine because they're well tested.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (2 children)

So you most definitely do not vape because it’s not well tested, right?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

People study the shit out of vapes what are you talking about.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Yes they do and every test ends up saying bad things, do you disagree? I would love to see the tests that show that vape products are not bad for you. Please link me.

But to be clear, I’m not telling you not to do it… We all do things that are bad for us. My point is people often say vaping is perfectly fine, and they know it’s not. Is it better or worse than cigarettes? I don’t really see how that has to do with it. You either do it or you do not do it.

Just say to me, “ I understand this company selling me this product is interested in me becoming addicted to this product, and does not actually have any concern about the chemicals that go into my body. I do this because I enjoy it, and it is my body” …. And I will completely agree with you

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I don’t vape, putting thins in your lungs is bad for you. It’s very heavily studied.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

It’s true, thank you, we shouldn’t really be inhaling things. I’m not trying to criticize drug use – you do what you want to do and that’s fine with me… But the inhalation of anything that’s not prescribed by a doctor is very dangerous. As far as weed is concerned, you can eat it. Nicotine comes in mints and gums, for people trying to quit cigarettes. But nicotine in general is a drug that nobody should be using for any purpose at all. Nicotine has no benefit.

And if anyone is reading this comment and thinking that nicotine helps you with your stress, I very much understand. You should ask your doctor about propranolol, which is a very low dose blood pressure medication that can assist with anxiety and all of those “I need a cigarette,“ kind of things.

Note:

If you are struggling with insurance issues, you can get 90 day supplies of propranolol pretty easily through a clinic or through one of those online clinics. If for some reason you are not able to Locate any of those services, if you are in the United States, please reach out to me directly through private message and I can help you find a solution.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Perfect logic here. Everything must be dangerous because it has "chemicals" and isn't well tested. Have you done a scientific study on the chemicals you breathe such as your local air supply? It's definitely dangerous unless you have and I suggest you stop inhaling it until you do.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Just to be clear are you asking me to kill myself?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

inhaling chemicals into your lungs is just clearly a bad idea

Lol

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Noting the flaws in mythology is kind of important to science...And the article doesn't do it so people in the comments are.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Creating convenient excuses is creating mythology.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Buddy, do you really think everyone criticizing this uses vapes?

Do you think it's impossible to criticize points you agree with? I prefer misinformation getting called out

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I don’t see misinformation being called out with EVIDENCE. this is like people complaining about vaccines.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Is it? I think it's worth pointing out that they only tested 3 models (?) from the same company. We have no idea if it can be extrapolated so the headline is hyperbolic. It's like saying apples potatoes are poisonous but you only tested 3 farms owned by the same company for poison.

Regardless, I am pro-regulation for both safety and environmental impact. They created an insane amount of ewaste already and now some have full color LCDs...on a device you're supposed to throw away in a month

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Is it really your opinion that different brands are significantly different when it comes to health concerns? Do you know what’s in it? I mean, did you do a test or are you relying on a manufacturer to be honest? Since you’ve already said they didn’t test these other models – does that mean you are OK to use those other models?

It just seems a bit ridiculous how upset people some get when they’re told that vaping is not good for them. It’s obviously not good for them.

I would like to point out to anybody reading this that I have never said not to do it, just admit you don’t know what’s in it and you like to do it regardless.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

Can't say what all the comments are like now, but at the time of you posting that there was literally no one defending vaping in the comments

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Failing to read the whole article creates mythology.

Most of the disposable e-cigarettes tested released markedly higher amounts of metals and metalloids into vapors than earlier, refillable vapes.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I'm guessing you drink alcohol?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

I do, but I do not pretend like it’s not bad for me. It’s fine if you do it. I don’t care what you do with your body. But don’t act like it’s not bad for you

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I don't vape or smoke (I have used a few THC carts from time to time, but I usually just take half an edible, and the cart is used maybe once a month if that often), but I still will criticize broad generalizations from limited studies, especially not peer reviewed.

I do agree that their findings seem to be more about regulation than vaping itself, and I'm happy I don't vape, but I'm not going to act like I can just confidently tell every person I know the science has proven their habit is worse than smoking.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

every person I know the science has proven their habit is worse than smoking.

No one here is saying that, regardless of how people interpret comments.