Volatile organic compounds in regular and organic vaping liquids: a public health concern
Goodman, Nigel, Nematollahi, Neda, Weinberg, Justine Lew, Flattery, Jennifer, Kolev, Spas D., Tong, Michael, Vardoulakis, Sotiris, and Steinemann, Anne (2025) Volatile organic compounds in regular and organic vaping liquids: a public health concern. Air Quality Atmosphere and Health, 18 (1). pp. 307-315.
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Abstract
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are a growing public health concern. Vaping liquids used in e-cigarettes emit a range of chemicals, including potentially hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Exposure to VOCs is associated with adverse effects including asthma attacks, neurological disorders, and increased risk of cancer. This study investigated the VOCs emitted into the headspace of a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer from e-cigarette vaping liquids, identified potentially hazardous compounds, and compared emissions between regular and organic versions. Vaping liquids (n = 25) were randomly selected from the market and analysed for their volatile emissions using headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The products were available for sale in the US, Australia, and New Zealand, and included regular (flavoured and flavourless) and organic (flavoured) versions. Results revealed that the vaping liquids collectively emitted 162 VOCs with 47 classified as potentially hazardous. Notably, all of the flavoured vaping liquids (regular and organic) emitted one or more VOCs classified as potentially hazardous. Further, among the 47 VOC occurrences classified as potentially hazardous, none were listed on any vaping liquid label or related product website. We found no significant difference in VOCs emitted between the regular (flavoured) and organic (flavoured) vaping liquids, and 40% of the hazardous VOCs detected were the same among these regular and organic versions. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that vaping liquids are a source of exposure to numerous volatile compounds, including potentially hazardous VOCs such as benzene, toluene and xylene. Moreover, the long-term health effects of vaping liquids are not well understood, highlighting the need for improved information on ingredients and health risks.
| Item ID: | 88726 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 1873-9326 |
| Keywords: | E-cigarette, E-liquid, Emissions, Flavour, Public health, Vaping liquid, Volatile organic compounds |
| Copyright Information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Funders: | National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) |
| Projects and Grants: | NHMRC 2008937 |
| Date Deposited: | 16 Sep 2025 22:51 |
| FoR Codes: | 37 EARTH SCIENCES > 3701 Atmospheric sciences > 370102 Air pollution processes and air quality measurement @ 50% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4206 Public health > 420699 Public health not elsewhere classified @ 50% |
| SEO Codes: | 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1801 Air quality, atmosphere and weather > 180101 Air quality @ 50% 20 HEALTH > 2004 Public health (excl. specific population health) > 200499 Public health (excl. specific population health) not elsewhere classified @ 50% |
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