Sponsor
This work was supported in part by Michael J Dowd, Regina M Dowd, Patrick J Coughlin, the Penrose Foundation and the Cooley Family Fund for Critical Research, of the Oregon Community Foundation.
Published In
Tobacco Control
Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
4-15-2015
Subjects
Electronic cigarettes -- Composition -- Analysis, Flavoring essences -- Analysis, Toxological chemistry
Abstract
Background: Most e-cigarette liquids contain flavour chemicals. Flavour chemicals certified as safe for ingestion by the Flavor Extracts Manufacturers Association may not be safe for use in e-cigarettes. This study identified and measured flavour chemicals in 30 e-cigarette fluids.
Methods: Two brands of single-use e-cigarettes were selected and their fluids in multiple flavour types analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. For the same flavour types, and for selected confectionary flavours (eg, bubble gum and cotton candy), also analysed were convenience samples of e-cigarette fluids in refill bottles from local ‘vape’ shops and online retailers.
Results: In many liquids, total flavour chemicals were found to be in the ∼1–4% range (10–40 mg/mL); labelled levels of nicotine were in the range of 0.6–2.4% (6 to 24 mg/mL). A significant number of the flavour chemicals were aldehydes, a compound class recognised as ‘primary irritants’ of mucosal tissue of the respiratory tract. Many of the products contained the same flavour chemicals: vanillin and/or ethyl vanillin was found in 17 of the liquids as one of the top three flavour chemicals, and/or at ≥0.5 mg/mL.
Conclusions: The concentrations of some flavour chemicals in e-cigarette fluids are sufficiently high for inhalation exposure by vaping to be of toxicological concern. Regulatory limits should be contemplated for levels of some of the more worrisome chemicals as well as for total flavour chemical levels. Ingredient labeling should also be required.
DOI
10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-052175
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/15186
Citation Details
Tierney, P. A., Karpinski, C. D., Brown, J. E., Luo, W., & Pankow, J. F. (2015). Flavour chemicals in electronic cigarette fluids. Tobacco control, 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-052175.
Description
Copyright 2015 The Authors
Published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/