Results from testing the air in a small vape shop with no ventilation show that the amount of toxic chemicals in the air from vaping is very small.

The California Health Department has been testing air quality in vape stores across the state to explore the impacts of inhaling second-hand vapor.

Earlier today, Public Health Expert Dr. Michael Siegel mentioned in his blog that the findings in the report came from a vape shop that was small and lacked proper ventilation. Additionally, 13 customers and many employees were actively vaping during the sampling process, which created an environment with high levels of second-hand vapor exposure. Despite the unfavorable conditions, the study found no dangerous levels of exposure to hazardous chemicals.

Dr. Michael Siegel stated, “Although conducted in a small, non-ventilated vape shop where many employees and customers were vaping and clouds of vapor were visible, this study did not document any hazardous chemical exposure at dangerous levels.”

The main results of the air sampling go as follows :

• Nicotine: Not detected
• Glycidol: Not detected
• Formaldehyde: 7.2 ppb
• Diacetyl: Not detected using standard method
• 2,3-Pentanedione: Not detected using standard method
• Acetyl butyryl: Not detected using standard method
• Acetoin: Not detected using standard method
• Acetone: Not detected
• Ethyl benzene: Not detected
• m,p-Xylene: Not detected
• o-Xylene: Not detected
• Toluene: Not detected
• Acetaldehyde: Not detected
• Acetonitrile: Not detected
• alpha-pinene: Not detected
• Benzene: Not detected
• Chloroform: Not detected
• d-Limonene: Not detected
• Methylene chloride: Not detected
• Methyl methacrylate: Not detected
• n-Hexane: Not detected
• Styrene: Not detected

Finally putting fears about formaldehyde to rest?

Although this study was carried out in a small, non-ventilated vape shop with high levels of exposure comprising many vaping employees and customers, and with clouds of vapor visible, there were no hazardous chemical exposure levels documented. There was no considerable nicotine exposure. Formaldehyde exposure was not different than many indoor or outdoor environments. We did not detect acetone, acetoin, other aldehydes, toluene, benzene, or xylene. Siegel stated that the regular method did not detect chemicals linked to “popcorn lung.”

No justification for governments to ban vaping

“This study shows that breathing in vapor produced by e-cigarettes, also known as secondhand vaping, does not seem to cause any major health problems in everyday situations,” said the public health expert. He added that, even though he had been involved in implementing many smoking bans, there was currently no reason to forbid vaping in public areas based on this evidence. “I don’t see any convincing proof that vaping presently poses a considerable health threat to bystanders.”

The CDPH has still not released any official data pertaining to this study