Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40883388›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Tracking metal presence in cannabis vaping products from source to inhalation.

Zuzana Gajdosechova, Joshua Marleau-Gillette, Matthew Polivchuk, Ivana Kosarac, Guru Prasad Katuri, Dharani Das, Ashley Cabecinha, Andrew Waye, Hanan Abramovici

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Zuzana GajdosechovaNational Research Council Canada, Metrology, 1200 Montreal Rd., Ottawa, ON, K1A 0R6, Canada. Zuzana.Gajdosechova@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
Joshua Marleau-GilletteNational Research Council Canada, Metrology, 1200 Montreal Rd., Ottawa, ON, K1A 0R6, Canada.
Matthew PolivchukNatural Resource Canada, 601 Booth St., Ottawa, ON, K1A 0E8, Canada.
Ivana KosaracTobacco Control Directorate, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Health Canada, 150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway, Ottawa, K1A 0K9, ON, Canada.
Guru Prasad KaturiTobacco Control Directorate, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Health Canada, 150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway, Ottawa, K1A 0K9, ON, Canada.
Dharani DasTobacco Control Directorate, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Health Canada, 150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway, Ottawa, K1A 0K9, ON, Canada.
Ashley CabecinhaOffice of Cannabis Science and Surveillance, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Health Canada, 150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0K9, Canada.
Andrew WayeOffice of Cannabis Science and Surveillance, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Health Canada, 150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0K9, Canada.
Hanan AbramoviciOffice of Cannabis Science and Surveillance, Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch, Health Canada, 150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0K9, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Vaping cannabis liquids is a convenient method of cannabis consumption, and is considered to be a less harmful alternative to smoking cannabis. However, vaping cannabis carries its own health risks, with many uncertainties, especially concerning the presence of metal particles in vape liquids. The heterogeneous distribution of these particles within the liquid matrix poses analytical challenges in measurement reproducibility. In this study, total metals analysis was performed on five samples from six different legal Canadian cannabis vape liquid products. The results indicated that metals from the vaping device components, cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) significantly contributed to within-batch variability. In contrast, all analyzed metals showed significant variability among tested products. Single-particle ICP-MS detected metal particles of aluminum (Al), Co, chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), Ni, tin (Sn), and Zn in the vape liquids. To assess potential consumer exposure, cannabis cartridges were vaped using a vaping machine and the resulting aerosol was analyzed. Although the number of detected emitted particles was below the limit of quantitation, all samples produced aerosols containing metal particles of Co, Cr, Ni, lead (Pb), Sn, and Zn. Further analysis using SEM-EDS on the emptied cartridges showed cracking on the connector pin of an unused device, suggesting a potential source of contamination during use and storage. The elemental composition of the metal components in the cartridges matched the detected particles, providing strong evidence that cannabis vape liquids are contaminated by the metal components of vaping devices.

Indexed as

CannabisMetalsVapingAerosolsCanadaElectronic Nicotine Delivery SystemsHumansMass SpectrometryNickelAerosolsMetalsNickelAerosol characterizationCannabis vape liquidsHeavy metalsMetal nanoparticlesPublic health exposureSingle particle ICP-MSTrace element analysisVape cartridge contamination

Identifiers

PMID40883388
PMCPMC12397267

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.