New research out of the University of Pittsburgh has found that menthol-flavored vape juice produces more toxic vapor particles than non-menthol flavors, suggesting the potential for increased harm to e-cigarette users who prefer to vape menthol e-juice flavors.
It should be noted that the study, which was published in the journal Respiratory Research, did not use human participants and instead relied on a custom vaping robot to mimic human vaping habits and respiration. The researchers did, however, further corroborate their findings by examining patient records from a group of vapers.
The researchers found that vapers who use menthol-based vape juices exhibited reduced lung function and shallow breaths in comparison to vapers who vaped non-menthol e-juices.
While there are some vapers who use plain menthol vape juice, the number of vapers that use vape juices that contain menthol alongside other flavors is substantial. Iced vape juice flavors are incredibly popular, both in bottled e-liquids and in disposable vapes that come prefilled with vape juice. Iced vape juices contain menthol, which helps make them cool and minty.
Many vape juice and disposable vape manufacturers offer iced flavors, including iced fruit flavors like Berry Crush and Mango Ice.
With many menthol-infused vape juices on the market, some vapers are almost certainly vaping menthol without realizing it. For instance, some vapers might see “mint” or “ice” in the name and not realize that it contains menthol.
According to the study, commercially available e-juices containing menthol were found to have produced more harmful microparticles than non-menthol vape liquids.
