Does “Dry Hit” Vaping of Vitamin E Acetate Contribute to EVALI? Simulating Toxic Ketene Formation During E-Cigarette Use

Abstract

Vitamin E acetate (VEA) is strongly linked to the outbreak of electronic-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI). It has been proposed that VEA decomposition to ketene – a respiratory poison that damages lungs at low ppm levels – may play a role in EVALI. However, there is no information available on the temperature at which VEA decomposes and how this correlates with the vaping process. We have studied the temperature-dependent kinetics of VEA decomposition using quantum chemical and statistical mechanical techniques, developing a chemical kinetic model of the vaping process. This model predicts that, under typical vaping conditions, the use of VEA contaminated e-ciga..