RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Assessing toxicant emissions from e-liquids with DIY additives used in response to a potential flavour ban in e-cigarettes
JF Tobacco Control
JO Tob Control
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP s245
OP s248
DO 10.1136/tc-2022-057505
VO 31
IS Suppl 3
A1 Ahmad El-Hellani
A1 Eric K Soule
A1 Mohammad Daoud
A1 Rola Salman
A1 Rachel El Hage
A1 Ola Ardati
A1 Malak El-Kaassamani
A1 Amira Yassine
A1 Nareg Karaoghlanian
A1 Soha Talih
A1 Najat Saliba
A1 Alan Shihadeh
YR 2022
UL http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/31/Suppl_3/s245.abstract
AB Significance Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) aerosolise liquids that contain nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerol and appealing flavours. In the USA, regulations have limited the availability of flavoured e-cigarettes in pod-based systems, and further tightening is expected. In response, some e-cigarette users may attempt to make their e-liquids (do-it-yourself, DIY). This study examined toxicant emissions from several aerosolised DIY e-liquids.Methods DIY additives were identified by reviewing users’ responses to a hypothetical flavour ban, e-cigarette internet forums and DIY mixing internet websites. They include essential oils, cannabidiol, sucralose and ethyl maltol. E-liquids with varying concentrations and combinations of additives and tobacco and menthol flavours were prepared and were used to assess reactive oxygen species (ROS), carbonyl and phenol emissions in machine-generated aerosols.Results Data showed that adding DIY additives to unflavoured, menthol-flavoured or tobacco-flavoured e-liquids increases toxicant emissions to levels comparable with those from commercial flavoured e-liquids. Varying additive concentrations in e-liquids did not have a consistently significant effect on the tested emissions, yet increasing power yielded significantly higher ROS, carbonyl and phenol emissions for the same additive concentration. Adding nicotine to DIY e-liquids with sucralose yielded increase in some emissions and decrease in others, with freebase nicotine-containing e-liquid giving higher ROS emissions than that with nicotine salt.Conclusion This study showed that DIY additives can impact aerosol toxicant emissions from e-cigarettes and should be considered by policymakers when restricting commercially available flavoured e-liquids.Data related to the concept mapping and carbonyl and phenol emissions are available upon request.