RJ Balde

Trichomes Staff

According to the early reports of a new study, results indicate that heating elements in vape products, rather than Vitamin E acetate, may be the primary culprit in cases of E-cig or Vaping Product Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI). The study was conducted by researchers at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine and the Huntington Medical Research Institutes.

Published in the Journal of American Heart Association, the study shows that severe EVALI cases are caused by e-cigarette and vape products made with nickel-chromium (NC) alloy heating elements. In contrast with previous hypotheses, the research also shows that cases were consistent with products made with or without nicotine, Vitamin E acetate, or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

The findings are part of a study that observed the effect on the cardiovascular system with e-cigarette and vaping product use. Researchers found that EVALI occurred immediately after switching to a device with an NC alloy heating element from one with a stainless steel (SS) heating element.

“The results were so impactful, we felt it imperative to release the initial findings early so that electronic cigarette users could be cautioned sooner, especially considering E-cigarette users are at increased risk of COVID-19,” stated senior author Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD, chief science officer for HMRI and professor of medicine at USC.

When the e-cigarette device with a SS heating element that the researchers were using for the study went off the market in September 2019, the team switched to the NC alloy device offered as an alternative. 

“Within an hour of beginning an experiment, we observed evidence of severe respiratory distress, including labored breathing, wheezing and panting,” said Michael Kleinman, PhD, professor of occupational and environmental medicine at UCI School of Medicine and member of the UCI Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. “After analyzing lung tissue from subjects in the study, we found them to be severely compromised and observed other serious changes such as lung lesions, red blood cell congestion, obliteration of alveolar spaces, and pneumonitis in some cases.”

“While further research is needed, these results indicate that specific devices and power settings may play a key role in the development of EVALI as much as the additives do,” said Kloner. “The harms associated with E-cigarettes and vaping simply cannot be overstated.”

The term “E-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI)” was created in June of 2019, as the “vapegate” crisis began to unfold. UCI researchers note that 2,800 cases of EVALI were reported in March 2020, along with 68 deaths.