Potential for Release of Pulmonary Toxic Ketene from Vaping Pyrolysis of Vitamin E Acetate

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently reported an increasing number of clinically reported cases of lung injury following use of e-cigarette/vaping products. The cause(s) of this growing epidemic of vaping associated pulmonary injury remain unidentified, though vitamin E acetate has been recently identified as one possible causative agent (see Nature 574, 303 (2019). A combined analytical, theoretical and experimental study has shown that the vaping of vitamin E acetate has the potential to produce exceptionally toxic ketene gas, which may be a contributing factor to the upsurge in lung injuries associated with using some vaping products.