Heavy metals, nicotine, arsenic in retail vape products

All samples contained toxic heavy metals including arsenic, lead, mercury, nickel, chromium, antimony, aluminium, iron and nickel, along with known carcinogens like formaldehyde.

Nicotine was present in all samples, despite nicotine-containing vape products legally requiring a prescription in Queensland.

Nicotine content ranged from trace levels (less than 200 mg/kg) to 47,000 mg/kg.

Prescription vape products can contain up to 100,000 mg/kg of the drug.

In early May, the federal government announced it would ban all vape products except those prescribed by health professionals.

Queensland health minister Shannon Fentiman said the results were confronting, given the rising popularity of vape products with younger people

"These results make it clear that what is inside them is extremely dangerous," Ms Fentiman said in a statement.

Last week the Queensland government passed a bill to toughen controls on smoking and vaping, including harsher penalties for selling or storing illegal tobacco.

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the test results were staggering.

"There are people who might think vaping is safer than smoking or, indeed, harmless," Ms Palaszczuk said in a statement.

"These test results should make those people think again."

The study did not monitor the relative safety of vaping relative to smoking.