In June, 2025 researchers at the University of California, Davis published a paper about toxic emissions from vapes. The emissions come from the vape coils which leach toxic metals into the juice. The study looked at chemicals present in both flavored and clear Esco Bar, Flum Pebble, and ELF Bar – along with non-nicotine controls.
The study authors wrote, “orders of magnitude higher in concentration than traditional cigarettes and other e-cigarettes. Heating coil elements (chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni)) likely leached into e-liquids and aerosols from coil degradation during use, increasing up to 1000-fold in concentration over the device life.”
So, don’t drain your vape – the study showed that toxicity increased as the vape aged and more puffs were taken. Some vape coils started emitting toxic elements after 100 puffs while others were OK until 300 or 500 puffs. If you like science and details, you’ll find them in the section called “Elements Emitted in Aerosols” in the paper.
Know the Risks
Toxic elements (e.g., lead, antimony, nickel) in smoke of disposable e-cigarettes exceed acceptable non-cancer and cancer risk thresholds due to leaching from coils and internal metallic components.
— For adult vapers, the authors write, “Respiratory exposure to these elements at sufficient doses can increase the risk of potential serious health effects such as neurotoxicity, (22−24) cardiovascular disease, (25) renal disease, (23) respiratory disease, (26) and lung cancer, (27) …”
— Risks to kids: don’t vape around your kids or let them have access to your vape – children exposed to lead can experience brain damage and central nervous system problems causing coma, convulsions and even death.*
Reduce your Puffs or Quit
Reducing your puffs reduces your (and your family’s) risk of exposure to toxic elements in your vape — that’s why we developed the HabitHalo solution that combines an app on your phone with RipLok — a connected locking case for your vape. The phone app tracks your puffs and uses a proprietary algorithm plus your preferences to develop a custom reduction plan. The plan helps you gradually increase the time between your puffs until you are weaned off of your nicotine habit. The app sends your plan via Bluetooth to RipLok, then RipLok unlocks and re-locks your vape – restricting your ability to take a puff and keeping you on track.
Get the HabitHalo app today and pre-order RipLok for delivery this fall on Indigogo
*Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Toxicological Profile for Lead; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service: Atlanta, GA, 2020.