‘Third-hand’ vape smoke linked to asthma, emphysema with danger to children

Vape residue left on clothes, surfaces and interiors can cause lung conditions following physical contact, with children most at risk, says an Australian study.

Vape residue left on clothes and surfaces poses a greater health risk than cigarette residue and can cause serious lung disease, a study has found, with children the most likely to be affected.

The residues identified in new research from the Sydney-based Woolcock Institute of Medical Research stick to surfaces after someone smokes, and are absorbed through touch.

These chemicals enter the body by absorbing into the bloodstream, eventually making their way to the lungs, in a process known generally as “third-hand smoking”.

Lead researcher Brian Oliver, who completed the study alongside researchers from the University of Technology Sydney, said children were especially vulnerable to third-hand smoking as they were more likely to put their hands in their mouths, allowing the residue oils to be ingested entirely through the lungs and wider metabolism.

Professor Brian Oliver led the study on third-hand vape smoke at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research. Photo: Supplied

“When people vape, the fumes that are emitted are very sticky and it coats surfaces really well,” Dr Oliver said.

“I think people don’t necessarily think about how what they’re doing would affect others. If there’s no evidence or there’s no publicity around the potential ­effect on others, that’s where things can go wrong.”

Third-hand vape smoke ­remains toxic for a month on average, meaning it can layer onto furniture and car interiors over time, and is easy to ignore because of a lack of obvious scent, according to the study.

These residues are so problematic that some foreign car rental companies have had to ban vaping inside their cars as deposits were clouding windscreens.

“In our model of mid to long-term third-hand exposure, the ­effects on the lungs were profound. The lungs had evidence of fibrosis typically seen in people who have chronic lung diseases such as asthma and emphysema,” Dr Oliver said.

“Basically, their lungs had evidence of damage which is likely to last a lifetime.

“If people don’t vape around children, or don’t vape in cars where children are going to be, then we’ve circumvented the problem.”

Dr Oliver said that third-hand smoking from vapes can be ­especially hard to avoid because of the scents vapes are usually packaged with.

“If you went into a cafe that you’ve never been to before and you smell something that’s pleasant, like perhaps strawberry, you wouldn’t think that was a toxic smell,” the respiratory disease expert said.

“The actual smell and the flavouring of vapes hides the potential toxicity of them.”

This is one of the sensory ­aspects that make vaping so hard to quit, and a poor method for quitting smoking as argued by Dr Oliver.

In tandem with the misleading smell, vaping has the same physical ritual as smoking a cigarette, unlike other nicotine substitutes, which can prevent the user from rewriting the associative pathways in the brain that make them want to smoke.

“They’re replicating the sensation they would have when they have a cigarette … that doesn’t help them quit,” Dr Oliver said.