Electronic cigarette users are inhaling potentially dangerous levels of a synthetic cooling agent used to mimic mint and menthol flavours, warns a new study. Little is known about the content of synthetic coolants in e-cigarettes or their health risks, yet that hasn’t slowed their popularity, with smokers especially keen on minty or menthol flavours.
The research revealed that e-cigarette makers are using the synthetic agents WS-3 and WS-23 in their products at levels higher than what the World Health Organisation considers safe. Suppliers have recently begun marketing synthetic additives that provide the cooling effect without the minty flavour.
The research from Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina was presented at the American Thoracic Society’s (ATS) international conference in San Francisco. Professor Sven Jordt, author of the study, said: “In a prior study we discovered that a synthetic cooling agent, WS-3, was added to Juul electronic cigarettes marketed in Europe.
