- Tattan-Birch H, et al. JAMA Netw Open. ly/3xI0Xal.
Children exposed to secondhand vapor from e-cigarettes absorbed 83.6% less nicotine than those exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke but still absorbed five times more nicotine than children exposed to neither, according to a recent study.
Children’s exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke has been declining for decades as fewer parents smoke and those who do often refrain from smoking indoors. Meanwhile, e-cigarettes have grown in popularity, presenting another source of nicotine exposure for children.
The authors of this study used data from the U.S. Continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2017-’20 to compare nicotine absorption among 1,777 children ages 3-11 years. Based on caregiver reports, 43 children were exposed to vapor from electronic devices, 270 to secondhand tobacco smoke and 1,464 to neither over the previous seven days. Children also provided a blood sample to test for serum cotinine, a biomarker of nicotine absorption.
Results showed nicotine absorption was highest among children exposed only to secondhand smoke (0.494 µg/L). Much lower levels were found in children exposed to secondhand vapor (0.081 µg/L).
While switching from smoking to vaping indoors may reduce a child’s secondhand exposure to nicotine substantially, the authors advised against it.
“Nonetheless, vaping inside the home around children should be avoided given that … the increased absorption of nicotine from secondhand vapor suggests that the children were also exposed to other potentially harmful excipients from e-cigarettes,” they wrote.
The AAP recommends that pediatricians counsel families on ways to reduce children’s exposure to smoke from cigarettes and e-cigarettes, including not smoking in the home or cars.
Among the study limitations, the authors noted that disposable e-cigarettes have become more popular since data were collected. “Patterns of indoor use and vapor generation may differ for disposable and rechargeable e-cigarettes, so our results will need to be replicated with more recent data,” they wrote.
