E-cigarette vapor tested positive for lead and arsenic

Electronic cigarette use is on the rise, and so are concerns about how safe they are.

A new study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspective, found that notable levels of potentially toxic metals, including lead and arsenic, leak from some e-cigarette heating coils and are present in aerosols vapers inhale.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health reached conclusions after analyzing e-cig devices of 56 users. A significant number of the devices generated aerosols with potentially unsafe levels of lead, chromium, manganese and nickel.

“It’s important for the FDA, the e-cigarette companies and vapers themselves to know that these heating coils, as currently made, seem to be leaking toxic metals — which then get into the aerosols that vapers inhale,” the study’s senior author, Ana María Rule, told USA Today.

Further research is planned to better understand the possible health impact of e-cigs.