Disposable vapes more toxic and carcinogenic than cigarettes, study shows

Illegal disposable e-cigarettes, also known as vapes, may present a greater danger than traditional cigarettes, according to a study from the University of California (UC) Davis.

The research, published in the journal ACS Central Science, found that hazardous levels of several toxic heavy metals in illegal vapes could present a high cancer risk.

Researchers used a special instrument to test the puffs from three popular vape brands — ELF Bar, Flum Pebble and Esco — that are not FDA-authorized for use in the U.S., but are widely sold by retailers.

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Three heavy metals — lead, nickel and antimony — were detected in all heavily flavored and lightly flavored devices that were tested. 

These metals are classified as carcinogens, potentially leading to various types of cancers, such as skin, lung and kidney, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

All vapors exceeded the cancer risk limits for nickel, which has been linked to cardiovascular disease, asthma, lung fibrosis and respiratory tract cancer, per NIH.

Brett Poulin, senior study author and assistant professor at the UC Davis Department of Environmental Toxicology, told Fox News Digital that he was shocked at the levels of toxic metals.

"When I analyzed the first samples, the lead concentrations were so high that I genuinely thought the instrument was broken," he said. "The levels far exceeded anything in our past data, or even the published literature."

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One of the brands tested exposes users to as much lead as smoking 19 packs of cigarettes, the researchers discovered.

Additionally, most of the disposable e-cigarettes tested in the study were found to contain greater levels of metals and metalloids than older refillable vapes.

At one point, Poulin said, he physically opened a device and discovered that it was using leaded copper alloys, which are metals made primarily of copper with small amounts of lead.

"These materials leached dangerous levels of lead into the e-liquid, even without the device being used," Poulin told Fox News Digital.

"It remains unclear whether this was an intentional design choice, a cost-cutting measure or a manufacturing oversight."

There is no known safe level of lead exposure, according to Poulin.

"This neurotoxin poses serious health risks, particularly to children and adolescents, who are especially vulnerable."

Daniel Sterman, M.D., director of the Pulmonary Oncology Program at the NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center, told Fox News Digital that the study "clearly" demonstrates high concentrations of metal.

"There are several health risks of vaping that we enumerate for our patients and their family members, [such as] risks of various lung diseases, including asthma, COPD and lung cancer," said Sterman, who was not involved in the study.

The doctor noted that while it is challenging to establish a direct link of causation between disposable vapes and cancer, he does see cancer patients who use the devices.

"Disposable vapes should be highly regulated by local, state and federal agencies, and restricted to those individuals 21 years or older," Sterman recommends.

The doctor also called for the packaging on disposable vapes to clearly outline the many health risks, "particularly to teenagers and young adults."

One of the primary limitations of the study was that only three disposable e-cigarette brands were tested out of the hundreds currently on the market. 

There are distinct differences in the metal leaching and profiles across all three brands, Poulin shared. 

"We still know very little about the metal content in the vast majority of untested disposable e-cigarette products," he said. "This gap in knowledge poses a significant public health concern, especially given the popularity of these devices."

A spokesperson for the China-based brand, ELFBAR, told Fox News Digital that they refute the results of the study, claiming that they stopped shipments in May 2023.

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Due to ongoing trademark litigation, they are unable to market or sell products in the U.S., the company stated.

"This market void has led to a surge in counterfeits, imitations and illicit variations misusing our brand name," the spokesperson said. "As such, we have every reason to believe the devices tested in this study are not genuine and were not manufactured by ELFBAR."

The spokesperson acknowledged that smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease worldwide, noting that the recent study "continues to undermine public understanding of smoking cessation."

The other two brands tested in the study did not respond to requests for comment.

Electronic cigarette use among adults increased from 4.5% in 2019 to 6.5% in 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Men are more likely to vape than women, while 15.5% of young adults between the ages of 21 and 24 reported using e-cigarettes, the above source states.

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The UC Davis study received support from the University of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program Grant and the California Agricultural Experiment Station.

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Heart attack deaths have plummeted in US, but new cardiovascular threats emerge

Heart attack deaths have plummeted in recent years — but other types of cardiovascular disease still pose a major threat.

A new study by the American Heart Association (AHA) found that overall heart disease-related death rates have declined by 66%, and heart attack deaths have dropped by almost 90%.

While heart attacks are no longer the most fatal form of heart disease, there have been increases in other types — heart failure, arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) and hypertensive heart disease (long-term high blood pressure).

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The findings were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Heart Association.

In the study, researchers analyzed more than 50 years of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), focusing on heart disease deaths among adults aged 25 and older.

In 1970, heart attacks — also known as ischemic heart disease — represented more than half (54%) of all heart disease deaths, the study found.

As of 2022, only 29% of heart disease deaths were caused by heart attacks.

Other types of heart disease deaths — such as heart failure, hypertensive heart disease and arrhythmia — have risen during that timeframe, however.

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In 2022, these other types were responsible for 47% of heart disease deaths, up from just 9% in 1970, the study found.

"This distribution shift in the types of heart disease people were dying from the most was very interesting to us," said the study’s first author, Sara King, M.D., a second-year internal medicine resident in the department of medicine at Stanford School of Medicine in Stanford, California, in the release. 

"This evolution over the past 50 years reflects incredible successes in the way heart attacks and other types of ischemic heart disease are managed," she went on.

"However, the substantial increase in deaths from other types of heart conditions, including heart failure and arrhythmias, poses emerging challenges the medical community must address."

Arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, happen when electrical impulses to the heart are too fast, slow or erratic, according to the AHA. One common example of an arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation (AFib), which begins in the upper chambers of the heart.

Heart failure is defined as a "chronic condition where the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs for blood and oxygen."

Hypertensive heart disease describes damage to the heart caused by long-term, unaddressed high blood pressure, the AHA stated.

Sadiya S. Khan, MD, a cardiologist and associate professor at Northwestern University in Chicago, was not involved in the study but commented on the "important analysis."

"Fortunately, this study suggests important progress in a preventable cause of death — heart attacks," she told Fox News Digital.

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"Unfortunately, it suggests that there is a smoldering crisis of other types of heart disease deaths that may be in part related to heart attacks, but speak to the growing burden of obesity that results in more heart failure and arrhythmia-related deaths."

"The increase in other types of heart disease leading to death has offset the wins from deaths from heart attacks declining."

The researchers presented several possible reasons for the decrease in heart attack deaths, primarily advancements in treatment for sudden and acute cardiac events.

"From the establishment and increased use of bystander CPR and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to treat cardiac arrest outside the hospital setting, to the creation of systems of care that promote early recognition of and quick procedural and medical intervention to treat heart attacks, there have been great strides made in helping people survive initial acute cardiac events that were once considered a death sentence," King said in the release.

The researchers also touted several other medical advancements, including coronary artery bypass grafting, cardiac imaging and many new heart disease medications.

Healthy lifestyle modifications, such as quitting smoking, exercising regularly and managing cholesterol and blood pressure, have also contributed to the reduced heart attack deaths, the AHA report stated.

Khan added, "It is important to note that this doesn’t mean the heart attack may still not have been the driver, if someone with a heart attack developed heart failure and that is now called a heart failure death."

Despite the improvements, the researchers cautioned that several other heart disease risk factors — including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and physical inactivity — are still fueling cases.

Obesity in particular has risen from 15% to 40% during the study timeframe, and type 2 diabetes affects nearly half of U.S. adults, according to the report.

Increased life expectancy is another factor — as people are living longer, a larger aging population is more likely to experience various types of heart disease.

"We’ve won major battles against heart attacks; however, the war against heart disease isn’t over," King said. "We now need to tackle heart failure and other chronic conditions that affect people as they age."

"The next frontier in heart health must focus on preventing heart attacks, and also on helping people age with healthier hearts and avoiding chronic heart conditions later in life."

The AHA calculates heart health based on an individual’s score for what it calls "Life’s Essential 8."

Those who score high in those eight areas are, on average, six years younger biologically than their actual age. 

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The eight lifestyle behaviors for optimal heart health are listed below.

The researchers pointed out several limitations of their study, including that they did not analyze data by age, sex, race, ethnicity, region or urbanization.

There could also be potential inconsistencies and "miscoding" of data over the years, they noted.

It’s also possible that the "true burden" of heart attacks is "underestimated" in the findings, according to the researchers.

"Certain conditions including heart failure, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias — and, in particular, ventricular arrhythmias and cardiac arrest — may be overly simplistic," they wrote. "Many of these cases likely have underlying causes that cannot be precisely differentiated using current or past ICD (International Classification of Diseases) codes."

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Khan pointed out that despite the decrease in direct heart attack deaths, heart disease overall is still the leading cause of mortality in the U.S., accounting for more than 900,000 deaths in 2022.

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Ear wax could offer clues of early Parkinson's disease, study suggests

Ear wax may provide an unexpected early warning of Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to new research.

In particular, its odor could help clinicians detect the progressive neurological movement disorder, researchers noted in the study, which was published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.

Parkinson’s is usually diagnosed after an individual demonstrates symptoms such as tremors, rigidity, bradykinesia (slowed movement) and gait changes, according to health experts.

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The study suggested that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — which are released by sebum (oily secretions that help lubricate and protect skin) in the ear wax of individuals with Parkinson’s — have a certain distinctive smell.

The odor is the result of systemic inflammation, neurodegeneration and oxidative stress related to disease progression, as noted in the report from the American Chemical Society.

"There is evidence that patients with Parkinson’s disease produce excess sebum, and other research groups have demonstrated that there are particular chemical profiles of this sebum compared to patients without PD," Dr. Joohi Jimenez-Shahed, medical director of movement disorders, neuromodulation and brain circuit therapeutics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, told Fox News Digital.

(Jimenez-Shahed was not affiliated with the study.)

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In this recent study, researchers in China analyzed wax swabbed from the ear canals of 209 participants, 108 of whom had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. 

Using specialized methods to analyze chemicals in the wax, the investigators found that four of the VOCs in people with the disease were significantly different from those who had not been diagnosed, the study detailed.  

They concluded that four VOCs — ethylbenzene, 4-ethyltoluene, pentanal and 2-pentadecyl-1,3-dioxolane) — may serve as potential biomarkers for PD.

The researchers used the collected ear wax data to train an artificial intelligence olfactory (AIO) system, technology that uses sensors to simulate the human sense of smell to detect and analyze VOCs.

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According to the report, the AIO system showed 94% accuracy with ear wax samples from people with and without Parkinson’s.

The study authors suggested that the AIO system could eventually be used as a first-line screening tool for early Parkinson’s detection, allowing for earlier treatment of the disease.

Most current treatments only manage symptoms and help maintain quality of life, but don’t stop or reverse the disease, which makes early diagnosis and treatment vital, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

The report also noted that current tests for Parkinson’s — such as imaging studies and clinical rating scales — can be costly and subjective. 

This potential detection system could provide an easy and inexpensive way to test for the disease, although experts pointed out that more testing is needed.

The study was performed on a small scale in a single clinic in China, according to Hao Dong, one of the study authors at the Research Center for Frontier Fundamental Studies in China.

"The next step is to conduct further research at different stages of the disease, in multiple research centers and among multiple ethnic groups, in order to determine whether this method has greater practical application value," Dong said in a news release. 

Jimenez-Shahed noted that ideally, this new method could serve as an early diagnostic test, potentially easier than using spinal fluid, skin biopsies or specialized scans.

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The above expert, who is also an associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, cautioned that the particular profiles of ear wax VOCs reported in the recent study may differ from findings from other studies. 

"There needs to be replication and/or expansion of sample size before determining the specific diagnostic potential of a test like this," he added.

Those who are concerned about potential Parkinson’s risk should consult with a neurologist or movement disorder specialist, Jimenez-Shahed advised.

A specialist can carefully screen the individual for early warning signs and determine the need for further diagnostic testing or treatment.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health

The study was funded by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of Science, Pioneer and Leading Goose R&D Program of Zhejiang Province, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

Fox News Digital reached out to the study authors for further comment.

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Mouth taping touted by some for better sleep as experts cite safety concerns

Mouth taping has again become a popular bedtime trend on social media — just as it trended a few years ago.

The idea is to tape the mouth shut at night to promote nasal breathing, which some experts claim can have health benefits.

Others, however, warn of potential risks and questionable results.

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The Sleep Foundation, based in Seattle, Washington, says the benefits of mouth taping are "mostly anecdotal," with few studies backing up the benefits.

"The main proposed benefit of mouth taping is promoting nasal breathing, which helps filter and humidify air and may reduce snoring or dry mouth for some individuals," sleep expert Wendy Troxel, Ph.D. — a RAND Corporation senior behavioral specialist and licensed clinical psychologist in Utah — told Fox News Digital.

Breathing through the nose helps people absorb more oxygen, according to Todd Anderson, sleep and wellness expert and founder of Dream Performance & Recovery in Nashville.

When you breathe out through your mouth all night, you're expelling most of the carbon dioxide in your body, Anderson said — but it can be beneficial to have some CO2 in the system.

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"When you start exercising, you're under stress and your CO2 starts to rise," he told Fox News Digital. 

"So the more comfortable you are with carbon dioxide in your system, the more adaptable to stress your body is."

Anderson said breath is like the "steering wheel" of the nervous system, as breathing through the nose promotes longer exhalations and relaxes the body.

"Your nose [also] produces nitric oxide, which you breathe down into your lungs. That expands your blood vessels and relaxes your cardiovascular system," he said. "Top to bottom, it calms your body down. That's why it impacts sleep in such a positive way."

Some claim that using the tape could also help achieve a more defined jaw structure and could protect dental health, Anderson noted, as mouth breathing leads to dryness and more acidity, which can break down tooth enamel.

Sleep expert Troxel said she approaches mouth taping with "considerable caution" — as scientific evidence shows that its effectiveness is "limited."

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"While some people report less snoring or better sleep, most of these claims are anecdotal and not well-supported by rigorous research with large and diverse samples," she told Fox News Digital.

While there is some "preliminary evidence" that mouth taping can reduce snoring for some sleep apnea patients, Troxel noted that the overall effect is "modest."

She added there is "no strong evidence" that mouth taping changes jaw shape.

For those who have nasal congestion, blockages or allergies, Troxel and Anderson agreed that mouth taping is not recommended, as it can make it harder to breathe at night.

"This can lead to feelings of anxiety and disrupted sleep — and in some cases, it may lower oxygen levels while sleeping," Troxel warned. 

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One big concern is that using mouth tape may delay or prevent people from getting proper treatment for sleep apnea, she added, which could pose serious health risks.

Anderson also recommended against mouth taping for people who are overweight, those who drink alcohol or other substances, and those who are feeling sick.

Troxel encouraged those who experience mouth breathing or snoring to consult with a healthcare provider to address any underlying issues.

"Treating the root cause is safer and more effective than taping the mouth shut," she said.

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"For otherwise healthy, low-risk individuals who do not have sleep apnea and want to experiment with mouth taping, I suggest approaching it scientifically and with caution."

For those who do decide to try it, Troxel suggested testing the tape on the skin first to check for irritation, using medical-grade tape, or considering a tape with a slit so that the mouth is not fully covered.

Anderson added that consumers should consider where the mouth tape is made and what adhesive is used, to prevent skin irritation and allergic reactions. 

The Sleep Foundation cautions on its website that some side effects of mouth taping include difficulty breathing, skin irritation and anxiety.

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Using a sleep tracker before and during the use of mouth tape for a few weeks could help gauge how it’s working, Troxel advised.

"If you do not see improvements, that’s your answer — it may not be effective for you," she said. "Always stop immediately if you experience discomfort or difficulty breathing."

There are other ways to promote nasal breathing, according to Troxel — including targeted exercises.

"Alternating nostril breathing or belly breathing during the day can help train your body to breathe through your nose more naturally at night," she said. 

"It's also a great strategy to manage stress and promote relaxation."

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ChatGPT could be silently rewiring your brain as experts urge caution for long-term use

Using ChatGPT on a long-term basis could have negative effects on brain function.

That’s according to a study led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which found that using a large language model (LLM) to write multiple essays over a four-month period could hamper cognitive abilities.

In the study, 54 participants were divided into three groups.

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One group used ChatGPT, an LLM product made by OpenAI, to write an essay. 

The second group used only a search engine, and the third group used only their own brains, according to a press release from MIT.

The participants underwent three sessions where they completed the same assignment. Then, in the fourth session, the LLM group was asked to write an essay without any tools, and the "brain-only" group was asked to use an LLM for assistance.

During each session, the researchers recorded the participants’ brain activity using an EEG monitor to assess their "cognitive engagement and cognitive load" and to determine their neural activity, the release stated.

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The participants also provided their own individual feedback during interviews.

Human teachers and an artificial intelligence agent scored the assessments.

"EEG analysis presented robust evidence that LLM, search engine and brain-only groups had significantly different neural connectivity patterns, reflecting divergent cognitive strategies," the researchers wrote.

Participants showed less brain connectivity when they used the tools to help write their essays, the study found.

"The brain‑only group exhibited the strongest, widest‑ranging networks; the search engine group showed intermediate engagement; and LLM assistance elicited the weakest overall coupling," the researchers wrote.

In the fourth session, the participants who switched from LLM to brain-only showed "weaker neural connectivity" and less cognitive engagement. 

The LLM group also had less ability to recall information from the essays they had just written.

Those who switched from brain-only to LLM had "higher memory recall" and greater cognitive engagement.

Based on these findings, the researchers said there could be a "possible decrease in learning skills" among LLM users. 

"The use of LLM had a measurable impact on our participants, and while the benefits were initially apparent, as we demonstrated over the course of four sessions … the LLM group's participants performed worse than their counterparts in the brain-only group at all levels: neural, linguistic [and] scoring," they wrote.

The findings have been uploaded to Arxiv, a preprint service, but have not yet been peer-reviewed, as the researchers noted that "all conclusions are to be treated with caution and as preliminary."

There were also a limited number of participants who were all from the same geographical area.

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"For future work, it will be important to include a larger number of participants coming from diverse backgrounds, like professionals in different areas and age groups, as well as ensure that the study is more gender-balanced," the researchers noted.

Only ChatGPT was used in the study; future research could incorporate other LLMs.

The EEG technology used to analyze brain connectivity could also have some limitations, as the researchers shared plans to use fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) in future studies.

"Our findings are context-dependent and are focused on writing an essay in an educational setting and may not generalize across tasks," they also stated.

"Future studies should also consider exploring longitudinal impacts of tool usage on memory retention, creativity and writing fluency."

Dr. Harvey Castro, an ER physician and "AI futurist" based in Texas, said he sees this study as a "neuro-wake-up call," especially for younger brains.

"ChatGPT can make you 60% faster, but that speed comes at the price of neuro-engagement," Castro, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. 

"Brain connectivity collapses from 79 neural links to just 42, and 83% of users can't quote their own essays minutes later. Neuroplasticity research tells us developing brains will feel this hit hardest."

In emergency medicine, Castro said, doctors call this "failure to encode."

"The brain isn't processing and storing information," he said. "When neural connectivity drops by nearly half, we're looking at what researchers call ‘cognitive debt.’"

For medical students, an inability to encode and recall information under pressure could have serious implications for clinical decision-making, Castro noted. 

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"The same neural networks that consolidate essay information are involved in diagnostic reasoning," he said.

Using LLMs for extended periods can be convenient, but could cause cognitive muscles to "atrophy" over time, the expert cautioned.

There was one encouraging finding, however.

"When people with strong foundational skills later used ChatGPT, they showed enhanced connectivity," Castro said. "The key isn't avoiding AI — it's building cognitive strength first."

In education, he emphasized the need for periods of "AI-free cognitive development."

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"Sometimes you act on preliminary data when the stakes are high enough, and an entire generation's brain development is high stakes."

Fox News Digital reached out to OpenAI for comment.

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RFK Jr to encourage Americans to use 'wearable' tech to track their health

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Tuesday that it is his vision "that every American is wearing a wearable within four years."

He made the comments regarding devices like smartwatches, smart rings and fitness trackers to members of Congress, adding that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is "about to launch one of the biggest advertising campaigns in HHS history to encourage Americans to use wearables."

Kennedy said during a hearing before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Health that wearables are a way "people can take control of their own health."

"They can see, as you know, what food is doing to their glucose levels, their heart rates, and a number of other metrics as they eat it," he told members of Congress. "And they can begin to make good judgments about their diet, about their physical activity, about the way that they live their lives."

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The health secretary said he has had friends who have "utterly changed their lives just from wearing a glucose meter," who have lost weight while monitoring their diabetes. 

Shares of continuous glucose-monitoring device makers Abbott and Dexcom were up 3.6% and 10%, respectively, in afternoon trading, Reuters reported.

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While he has been critical of the diabetes drug Ozempic, which is often used for weight-loss, he has expressed support for the prescription of such weight-loss drugs for adults with morbid obesity and diabetes, provided they are accompanied by exercise.

"You know the Ozempic is costing $1300 a month, if you can achieve the same thing with an $80 wearable, it's a lot better for the American people," Kennedy said, adding, "We're exploring ways of making sure that those costs can be paid for."

J.P. Morgan analyst Robbie Marcus commented, "We think it's premature to interpret this as a direct comment on whether Medicare and other commercial payors will move towards covering non-intensive Type II diabetes patients or other areas of proactive monitoring."

Kennedy has long promoted healthy eating over medicine as a way to combat obesity, and has been a prominent skeptic of vaccine safety.

He added, both in person and on X, that the forthcoming wearables campaign is "a key part of our mission to Make America Healthy Again."

Reuters contributed to this report. 

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