New e-cigarette ‘dripping’ craze that gives teens stronger hit ‘increases risk of exposure to harmful toxins’
One in four teenagers have tried 'dripping', where e-liquids are dropped directly on to heating coils to produce thicker clouds of vapour
A NEW vaping craze that involves dripping e-cigarette fluid on to heated coils is exposing teenagers to 'harmful toxic chemicals and nicotine', experts have warned.
One in four vaping teens have tried "dripping";, in search of a stronger hit.
It produces a thicker cloud of vapour and a more pleasurable taste, they report.
But, experts at Yale University warn the more potent hit could also increase teenagers' exposure to toxins and nicotine.
They said while studies have looked at the dangers of the devices, marketed as stop smoking aids, research must also focus on what happens when they're misused.
Professor of psychiatry, Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, said: "What we are discovering with our work with youth is that kids are actually using these electronic products for other behaviours, not just for vaping e-liquids from cartridges or tanks."
Evidence shows "dripping" raises the risk of exposure to chemicals including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein, in the vapours.
Kids are actually using these electronic products for other behaviours, not just for vaping e-liquids from cartridges or tanks
Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin
That's because applying the liquid directly to a battery-powered coil heats it at a higher temperature than inhaling from a cartridge or tank.
The Yale researchers - the first to look at dripping rates in teens - said more investigations must be carried out on the toxicity of hot vapours.
And they called for regulators to consider imposing restrictions to make it impossible to modify e-cigarettes for uses like dripping.
Researchers reviewed surveys filled out by 1,080 e-cigarette users at eight Connecticut high schools.
Their findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, showed that 26.1 per cent had tried dripping.
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Males, white students, teens who had tried multiple tobacco products, and those who used e-cigarettes on more days in the past month, were more likely to use the devices for dripping, the researchers found.
They did not ask whether the students added nicotine to e-liquids for dripping, or how often the devices were used for dripping.
Prof Krishnan-Sarin said in general people who use e-cigarettes tend to puff on them throughout the day, and that researchers don't know the short- and long-term consequences of exposing lungs to the vapours.
She said further studies are needed to assess possible health risks of e-cigarettes and of alternative uses like dripping.
She warned: "Everybody assumes vaping is a safer way (than cigarettes) of administering nicotine, but we know so little about the risks of vaping."
Another study published last week suggested e-cigarettes could damage the heart, increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Experts at the University of California, Los Angeles found vapers were more likely to show signs of two key heart risk factors, which are known precursors to heart disease.
Researchers at University College London found levels of cancer-causing toxins fell by up to 97 per cent in vapers six months after they switched from cigarettes.
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