A new study by Portland State University’s Robert Strongin doctoral student Kaelas Munger provides insight into the potential risks of vaping cannabinoid acetates. They found that the toxic gas known as ketene is released when cannabinoid acetates are heated under vaping conditions. Ketene was found previously by researchers studying vitamin E acetate in 2019 in the emissions from a commercial e-cigarette. This led to ketene’s identification as a possible source of the vaping-induced lung injury outbreak that led to nearly 3,000 hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. as of February 2020. While ketene is known to be toxic to humans, Strongin said it’s too dangerous to study in order to fully understand its impact on the human body.