Nicotine, an addictive chemical found in electronic cigarettes, has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in some studies. If used as a complete substitute for traditional cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products, e-cigarettes have the potential to assist individuals who smoke but are not pregnant.
E-cigarettes are not safe for children, teenagers, pregnant women, or adults who do not use tobacco products. While e-cigarettes have the potential to assist some people while harming others, experts are still learning if they are successful in helping adults quit smoking.
Because e-cigarettes bring plastic, nicotine salts, heavy metals, lead, mercury, and combustible lithium-ion batteries into streams, soil, and wildlife, e-cigarette trash could pose a greater environmental concern than cigarette butts.
However, a real-time nicotine monitoring gadget is required to fully comprehend its possible health implications. Vapers and non-vapers who come into contact with second-hand smoke could benefit from such a gadget.
Researchers have now published a paper in ACS Sensors describing the development of a battery-free, wearable device that can achieve this task.
According to Truth Initiative research done in 2020, more than half (51%) of adolescent e-cigarette users reported throwing spent e-cigarette pods or empty disposables in the garbage, 17% in a conventional recycling receptacle not meant for e-cigarette waste, and 10% simply throwing them on the ground. Nearly half of young people (49.1%) are unsure what to do with old e-cigarette pods and disposable devices.
E-cigarettes heat and aerosolize nicotine, glycerine, propylene glycol, and flavoring additives mixture, which the user then inhales.
This mixture can have an impact on a variety of organs in the body, including the respiratory system, where it affects airflow, increases oxidative stress, and lowers immunity.
Because e-cigarettes bring plastic, nicotine salts, heavy metals, lead, mercury, and combustible lithium-ion batteries into streams, soil, and wildlife, e-cigarette trash could pose a greater environmental concern than cigarette butts.
Nicotine also has the potential to cause lung cancer. However, determining that exposure in real-world circumstances has proven problematic.
Current tests for assessing ambient nicotine levels are performed in laboratories and necessitate large sample volumes and many sampling days to weeks.
As an alternative, portable nicotine sensors are being developed, however, the two that have been reported are unsuitable because they rely on perspiration or sunlight to function.
E-cigarette trash, unlike cigarette butts, does not biodegrade even under extreme temperatures. E-cigarettes that are left on the street eventually degrade into microplastics and toxins, which damage our waterways and wildlife.
As a result, Madhu Bhaskaran, Md. Ataur Rahman, and Philipp Gutruf set out to design a lightweight, wearable sensor that could detect nicotine in real-time and transfer the data wirelessly to electronic devices like a smartphone.
The team decided to build their sensor out of vanadium dioxide (VO2) on a polyimide substrate. They demonstrated that nicotine may bind covalently to a thin film of VO2, changing the conductivity of the film to a degree that is dependent on nicotine concentration.
The device detects a change in conductivity, amplifies the signal, and sends it to a smartphone through Bluetooth. The battery-free sensor, when placed to the skin, can assess the wearer’s exposure to vaporized nicotine in the open air.
According to the researchers, this method widens the utility of wearable electronics for monitoring harmful compounds in the environment in real-time.
