There are many products that contain chemicals that are unregulated or untested that people use every day.

The resurgence of nicotine popularity on the social and public health scene has left many scientists, researchers, and government officials feeling completely unaware of how this phenomenon will impact the next generation. As this is a relatively recent crisis, there has yet to be comprehensive studies conducted on the long-term impacts of e-cigarette usage.

According to a study conducted by British American Tobacco Company researchers, the e-cigarette vapor was found to be non-mutagenic using the Ames test, (1) supporting claims that e-cigarettes are “safer” than traditional cigarettes. (2) As a mutagenicity study on nicotine products conducted by a tobacco company presents a conflict of interest, and I was unable to find similar studies, I was intrigued to research the mutagenicity of e-cigarettes, specifically a popular e-cigarette brand: Juul.

Juul pod fluids have been found to have up to three times the amount of nicotine per milliliter as other e-cigarette brands, and one pod is equivalent to 20 cigarettes worth of nicotine.(3) The FDA has indicated that e-cigarettes contain “detectable levels of known carcinogens and toxic chemicals to which users could be exposed,” (4) but this is a topic that has not been fully explored in the scientific and clinical world. (5)

I have conducted an Ames test on Juul pod fluid in order to determine its mutagenicity. The Ames Test or Salmonella typhimurium reverse mutation assay is a mutagenicity test which identifies carcinogens, substances and exposures that can lead to cancer, by using mutagenicity in bacteria, which is high correlation model for mutagenicity in animals. (6)