Urine Sample Study: Harmful Substances in Traditional Cigarettes Exceed Those in E-Cigarettes

On June 10, according to Vapingpost, a study conducted by Italian researchers and published in Elsevier's journal compared the chemical substances entering the human body through e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes by testing participants' urine samples.

The study, titled "Urinary Biomonitoring of Subjects with Different Smoking Habits. Part One: Analysis of Mercapturic Acid," analyzed urine samples from 67 healthy adults with different smoking behaviors: 38 non-smokers (NS), 7 e-cigarette users, and 22 traditional cigarette users.

While it is well-known that traditional cigarettes contain thousands of chemicals, many of which are carcinogenic to humans, the content of e-cigarette products is generally considered less understood. To this end, the researchers aimed to determine and compare exposure related to different products by analyzing urinary mercapturic acid as a biomarker for toxic compounds.

Consistent with numerous previous studies, the aggregated data confirmed that traditional cigarettes are a major source of carcinogenic chemicals, such as benzene and 1,3-butadiene. In contrast, e-cigarettes are a secondary source, primarily associated with exposure to chemicals with lower carcinogenic potential (such as acrylonitrile and acrolein).

A similar study based on urine samples from 2018 indicated that e-cigarette users inhaled more heavy metals and carcinogens compared to non-e-cigarette users, but less than smokers.

This study, titled "Comparative Exposure to Nicotine and Toxicants Among Users of E-Cigarettes and Combustible Cigarettes," was published in JAMA Network Open. Researchers analyzed urine samples from 5,105 participants and compared samples from e-cigarette users, traditional cigarette users, dual users, and non-users.

The study showed that participants who neither smoked nor vaped had the lowest levels of toxic chemicals in their urine. Compared to e-cigarette users, those who had never vaped had significantly lower concentrations of biomarkers for nicotine, TSNAs, certain metals (such as cadmium and lead), and some VOCs (including acrylonitrile), reduced by 19% to 81%.

Additionally, the levels of toxic chemicals in the urine of e-cigarette users were lower than those of traditional cigarette users. Compared to dedicated cigarette smokers, e-cigarette users had significantly lower concentrations of biomarkers (including TSNAs, PAHs, most VOCs, and nicotine) ranging from 10% to 98%; the concentrations of metals and three VOCs were comparable.