So I was doing more tox homework on this... There's little data on inhalation toxicity of the esterified (acetate) form of tocopherol (Vitamin E). The only study I've located was a 1986 rat test...
So I was doing more tox homework on this... There's little data on inhalation toxicity of the esterified (acetate) form of tocopherol (Vitamin E). The only study I've located was a 1986 rat test where they found inhaled tocopheryl acetate caused interstitial lung inflammation at all tested doses.
Tocopherol and derivatives have been heavily [PDF warning] tested for oral and dermal applications, and have GRAS status in food or cosmetics. Inhaled tocopherol (alpha- or gamma- isoforms) has actually been tested as an effective treatment for lung inflammation due to burns or smoke inhalation.
It's easy enough to see why the cartridge makers might have thought Vitamin E would be a safe blending material. Given millions of users, my money is still on a contaminant, rather than the Vitamin E acetate alone.
As this Leafly story indicates though, there was no evidence for safe inhalation, and that alone should have prevented its use. ***The Leafly story has a more accessible version of the three references cited on experimental models of toxicity of tocopheryl acetate in the CDC report.
Really great links, thank you for posting this. For anyone without a heavy science background, I think it's important to elaborate and distinguish on the group of studies that you linked. Vitamin...
Really great links, thank you for posting this.
For anyone without a heavy science background, I think it's important to elaborate and distinguish on the group of studies that you linked. Vitamin E is actually a group of several compounds. The links here on safety apply to the specific compound mentioned in the study, such as alpha tocopheryl, and the safety of one compound cannot extend to other vitamin E compounds (each must be tested separately) such as tocopheryl acetate. The chemical differences between said compounds change how they effect the body and while one version may be safe to nebulize, another may not.
Given millions of users, my money is still on a contaminant, rather than the Vitamin E acetate alone.
I think I'm with you on this one. While an acetate version of vitamin E is likely more reactive than the hydroxy versions, it seems a bit of a stretch for this to have caused serious injuries and death. It seems more likely to me that a contaminant was at cause here, although the acetate's inflammation or unique structure may have allowed for a contaminant to more easily cross the cellular barrier and cause more damage.
The official CDC release is here, but it's fairly difficult to read: Evaluation of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid from Patients in an Outbreak of E-cigarette, or Vaping, Product Use–Associated Lung...
Yes, this concern has always just been related to vaping liquid/oil, from e-cigarette style devices. This is the CDC's main informational page about it: https://www.cdc.gov/lunginjury
Yes, this concern has always just been related to vaping liquid/oil, from e-cigarette style devices. This is the CDC's main informational page about it: https://www.cdc.gov/lunginjury
So I was doing more tox homework on this... There's little data on inhalation toxicity of the esterified (acetate) form of tocopherol (Vitamin E). The only study I've located was a 1986 rat test where they found inhaled tocopheryl acetate caused interstitial lung inflammation at all tested doses.
Tocopherol and derivatives have been heavily [PDF warning] tested for oral and dermal applications, and have GRAS status in food or cosmetics. Inhaled tocopherol (alpha- or gamma- isoforms) has actually been tested as an effective treatment for lung inflammation due to burns or smoke inhalation.
It's easy enough to see why the cartridge makers might have thought Vitamin E would be a safe blending material. Given millions of users, my money is still on a contaminant, rather than the Vitamin E acetate alone.
As this Leafly story indicates though, there was no evidence for safe inhalation, and that alone should have prevented its use. ***The Leafly story has a more accessible version of the three references cited on experimental models of toxicity of tocopheryl acetate in the CDC report.
Really great links, thank you for posting this.
For anyone without a heavy science background, I think it's important to elaborate and distinguish on the group of studies that you linked. Vitamin E is actually a group of several compounds. The links here on safety apply to the specific compound mentioned in the study, such as alpha tocopheryl, and the safety of one compound cannot extend to other vitamin E compounds (each must be tested separately) such as tocopheryl acetate. The chemical differences between said compounds change how they effect the body and while one version may be safe to nebulize, another may not.
I think I'm with you on this one. While an acetate version of vitamin E is likely more reactive than the hydroxy versions, it seems a bit of a stretch for this to have caused serious injuries and death. It seems more likely to me that a contaminant was at cause here, although the acetate's inflammation or unique structure may have allowed for a contaminant to more easily cross the cellular barrier and cause more damage.
The official CDC release is here, but it's fairly difficult to read: Evaluation of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid from Patients in an Outbreak of E-cigarette, or Vaping, Product Use–Associated Lung Injury — 10 States, August–October 2019
Yes, this concern has always just been related to vaping liquid/oil, from e-cigarette style devices. This is the CDC's main informational page about it: https://www.cdc.gov/lunginjury