Vapes confiscated at Dutch schools contain toxic metals, carcinogens, too much nicotine

Vapes confiscated at secondary schools in the Netherlands were found to contain heavy metals, carcinogenic substances, and much more nicotine than is legally allowed, RTL Nieuws reports. Experts call the results “extremely worrying.”

Many teenagers in the Netherlands vape. Partly for this reason, the Cabinet banned flavored vapes as of January 1, though the flavored liquids are still relatively easy to come by.

Most high schools confiscate vapes when they find them on students. RTL asked schools to send these confiscated vapes to them and then sent a random sample of 20 vapes to a United Kingdom lab to test the contents of the liquid and the inhaled vapor.

The researchers found that 8 of the 20 vapes contained much more nicotine than legally permitted. Seven contained formaldehyde, a carcinogenic substance. Three contained lead, a heavy metal that impacts brain development. They also found nickel, acetone, iron, acrolein, valeraldehyde, and butyraldehyde in some of the vapes. All 20 vapes also had a larger capacity than legally permitted.

“Some of the results are really bizarre,” Remco Westerink, a toxicologist at Utrecht University, told RTL Nieuws. “This shows that there are many different harmful substances in vapes. That in itself is worrying, but when you consider that these vapes have been used by children with still-developing brains, this is really a harmful product.”

He raised particular concerns about the high concentrations of nicotine and lead. Nicotine can disrupt brain development, cause concentration problems and mood swings, and is very addictive. “There are even vapes with a nicotine amount of 200 to 400 cigarettes,” Westerink said. Lead, too, is particularly harmful to brain development, he said. “It can cause a decrease in IQ of up to five points. You really don’t want this in vapes.”

Esther Croes, a tobacco expert at the Trimbos Institute, is horrified by the figures. “20 milligrams [of nicotine], the legal maximum and intended for smokers, is already a bizarre amount for children. But these vapes are also much larger than permitted and contain much more nicotine. That is indescribable. And then they are also produced and sold in a form that is attractive to children.”

“It has now been conclusively shown that the vapes used by Dutch children contain so many harmful substances. Heavy metals, enormous amounts of nicotine, and carcinogenic substances. Your research shows that Dutch children are poisoning their bodies and brains with these vapes,” Croes said. “These are substances that can ruin your body for the rest of your life because they can cause damage in all kinds of places.”

She urged the government to do more to discourage vapes. “Together, we must protect children as much as possible and do everything we can to make them resilient. Because our youth still have a whole future ahead of them and must be able to grow up healthy. These results emphasize that we really have a problem in the Netherlands.”