Most Disposable Vape Pens Found at California High Schools Contained THC or CBD
Chemical analysis of 576 vaping products from 16 California high schools found that 90% of disposable vape pens contained cannabinoids, and some nicotine products had mislabeled contents.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Among 43 disposable vape pen devices, 39 (90.1%) contained THC or CBD, with three containing both nicotine and THC. Among cartridges and pods, 98.1% contained nicotine. Confiscated products differed chemically from purchased versions of the same brand.
Key Numbers
576 total products from 16 schools. 90.1% of disposable vape pens (39/43) contained THC or CBD. 98.1% of cartridges/pods (204/208) contained nicotine. 3 devices contained both nicotine and THC. Chemical differences found between confiscated and purchased JUULs.
How They Did This
Cross-sectional chemical analysis of 576 electronic vaping products (233 devices, 343 cartridges/pods/e-liquids) found or confiscated from 16 California public high schools in February-March 2019. Liquids from 251 samples were analyzed by GC/MS. Results were compared to newly purchased JUUL pods.
Why This Research Matters
This is among the first studies to systematically analyze what teens are actually vaping at school. The finding that disposable vape pens overwhelmingly contain cannabinoids rather than just nicotine challenges assumptions about what youth vaping products deliver and has implications for school health interventions.
The Bigger Picture
Youth vaping is often framed primarily as a nicotine problem, but these data reveal a significant cannabinoid dimension. Disposable vape pens, which are easy to obtain and discard, appear to be a primary delivery method for THC among high school students.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Products were collected from a convenience sample of 16 California schools during a two-week period in 2019, limiting generalizability. Self-reported product labels may not reflect what students knew they were using. The vaping landscape has changed significantly since data collection.
Questions This Raises
- ?Has the proportion of THC-containing vape products on school grounds changed since 2019?
- ?Are students aware that their vape products contain cannabinoids when they contain both nicotine and THC?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 90.1% of disposable vape pens from schools contained cannabinoids
- Evidence Grade:
- Moderate: rigorous chemical analysis using GC/MS, but limited to a convenience sample of California schools from 2019.
- Study Age:
- 2024 publication analyzing products collected in 2019.
- Original Title:
- Chemical Composition of Electronic Vaping Products From School Grounds in California.
- Published In:
- Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 26(8), 991-998 (2024)
- Authors:
- Wang, Ping, Williams, Rebecca J(3), Chen, Wenhao, Wang, Flavia, Shamout, Mays, Tanz, Lauren J, Herzig, Carolyn T A, Oakley, Lisa P, Peak, Corey M, Heinzerling, Amy, Al-Shawaf, Maeh, Melstrom, Paul, Marynak, Kristy, Tynan, Michael A, Agaku, Israel T, Kumagai, Kazukiyo
- Database ID:
- RTHC-05797
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Were students using THC or nicotine vapes?
Both. Nearly all cartridges and pods (98%) contained nicotine, while 90% of disposable vape pens contained THC or CBD. Three products contained both nicotine and cannabinoids, suggesting some students were exposed to both.
Were product labels accurate?
Not always. Measured nicotine levels in some confiscated products were inconsistent with their labels, and confiscated JUULs differed chemically from newly purchased ones, suggesting possible tampering or counterfeit products.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-05797APA
Wang, Ping; Williams, Rebecca J; Chen, Wenhao; Wang, Flavia; Shamout, Mays; Tanz, Lauren J; Herzig, Carolyn T A; Oakley, Lisa P; Peak, Corey M; Heinzerling, Amy; Al-Shawaf, Maeh; Melstrom, Paul; Marynak, Kristy; Tynan, Michael A; Agaku, Israel T; Kumagai, Kazukiyo. (2024). Chemical Composition of Electronic Vaping Products From School Grounds in California.. Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 26(8), 991-998. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae042
MLA
Wang, Ping, et al. "Chemical Composition of Electronic Vaping Products From School Grounds in California.." Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae042
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Chemical Composition of Electronic Vaping Products From Scho..." RTHC-05797. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/wang-2024-chemical-composition-of-electronic
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.