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Figure 1 | BMC Public Health

Figure 1

From: Peering through the mist: systematic review of what the chemistry of contaminants in electronic cigarettes tells us about health risks

Figure 1

Illustrating the difference between concentrations in the aerosol generated by vaping and inhaled air in a day. Panel Ashows a black square that represents aerosol contaminated by some compound as it would be measured by a “smoking machine” and extrapolated to dosage from vaping in one day. This black square is located inside the white square that represents total uncontaminated air that is inhaled in a day by a vaper. The relative sizes of the two squares are exaggerated as the volume of aerosol generated in vaping relative to inhaled air is much smaller than is illustrated in the figure. Panel Bshows how exposure from contaminated air (black dots) is diluted over a day for appropriate comparison to occupational exposure limits that are expressed in terms of “time-weighted average” or average contamination over time rather than as instantaneous exposures. Exposure during vaping occurs in a dynamic process where the atmosphere inhaled by the vaper alternates between the smaller black and larger white squares in Panel A. Thus, the concentration of contaminants that a vaper is exposed to over a day is much smaller than that which is measured in the aerosol (and routinely improperly cited as reason for concern about “high” exposures).

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