Trendy e-cigarettes enter Europe: chemical characterization of JUUL pods and its aerosols

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Abstract

The popularity and the high nicotine content of the American pod e-cigarette JUUL have raised many concerns. To comply with European law, the nicotine concentration in the liquids of the European version, which has been recently released on the market, is limited to below 20 mg/mL. This limit can possibly be circumvented by technological adjustments that increase vaporization and consequently, elevate nicotine delivery. In this study, we compare vapor generation and nicotine delivery of the initial European version, a modified European version, and the original American high-nicotine variant using a machine vaping set-up. Additionally, benzoic acid and carbonyl compounds are quantified in the aerosol. Further, concentrations of nicotine, benzoic acid, propylene glycol, and glycerol, along with the density and pH value of JUUL e-liquids have been assessed. Whereas the initial European version did not compensate for the low nicotine content in the liquid, we provide evidence for an increased vaporization by the modified European version. As a consequence, nicotine delivery per puff approximates the American original. Notably, this is not associated with an increased generation of carbonyl compounds. Our data suggest a similar addictiveness of the enhanced European version and the original American product.

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Most cited references 34

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Chemical hazards present in liquids and vapors of electronic cigarettes.

Svetlana Kruschinski, Frank Henkler, Christoph Hutzler … (2014)

Electronic (e-)cigarettes have emerged in recent years as putative alternative to conventional tobacco cigarettes. These products do not contain typical carcinogens that are present in tobacco smoke, due to the lack of combustion. However, besides nicotine, hazards can also arise from other constituents of liquids, such as solvents, flavors, additives and contaminants. In this study, we have analyzed 28 liquids of seven manufacturers purchased in Germany. We confirm the presence of a wide range of flavors to enhance palatability. Although glycerol and propylene glycol were detected in all samples, these solvents had been replaced by ethylene glycol as dominant compound in five products. Ethylene glycol is associated with markedly enhanced toxicological hazards when compared to conventionally used glycerol and propylene glycol. Additional additives, such as coumarin and acetamide, that raise concerns for human health were detected in certain samples. Ten out of 28 products had been declared "free-of-nicotine" by the manufacturer. Among these ten, seven liquids were identified containing nicotine in the range of 0.1-15 µg/ml. This suggests that "carry over" of ingredients may occur during the production of cartridges. We have further analyzed the formation of carbonylic compounds in one widely distributed nicotine-free brand. Significant amounts of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and propionaldehyde were only found at 150 °C by headspace GC-MS analysis. In addition, an enhanced formation of aldehydes was found in defined puff fractions, using an adopted machine smoking protocol. However, this effect was delayed and only observed during the last third of the smoking procedure. In the emissions of these fractions, which represent up to 40 % of total vapor volume, similar levels of formaldehyde were detected when compared to conventional tobacco cigarettes. By contrast, carbonylic compounds were hardly detectable in earlier collected fractions. Our data demonstrate the necessity of standardized machine smoking protocols to reliably address putative risks of e-cigarettes for consumers.

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Prevalence of vaping and smoking among adolescents in Canada, England, and the United States: repeat national cross sectional surveys

David Hammond, Jessica Reid, Vicki Rynard … (2019)

Abstract Objective To examine differences in vaping and smoking prevalence among adolescents in Canada, England, and the United States. Design Repeat cross sectional surveys. Setting Online surveys in Canada, England, and the US. Participants National samples of 16 to 19 year olds in 2017 and 2018, recruited from commercial panels in Canada (n=7891), England (n=7897), and the US (n=8140). Main outcome measures Prevalence of vaping and smoking was assessed for use ever, in the past 30 days, in the past week, and on 15 days or more in the past month. Use of JUUL (a nicotine salt based electronic cigarette with high nicotine concentration) and usual vaping brands were also assessed. Logistic regression models examined differences in vaping and smoking between countries and over time. Results The prevalence of vaping in the past 30 days, in the past week, and on 15 days or more in the past month increased in Canada and the US between 2017 and 2018 (P<0.001 for all), including among non-smokers and experimental smokers, with no changes in England. Smoking prevalence increased in Canada (P<0.001 for all measures), with modest increases in England, and no changes in the US. The percentage of ever vapers who reported more frequent vaping increased in Canada and the US (P<0.01 for all), but not in England. The use of JUUL increased in all countries, particularly the US and Canada—for example, the proportion of current vapers in the US citing JUUL as their usual brand increased threefold between 2017 and 2018. Conclusions Between 2017 and 2018, among 16 to 19 year olds the prevalence of vaping increased in Canada and the US, as did smoking in Canada, with little change in England. The rapidly evolving vaping market and emergence of nicotine salt based products warrant close monitoring.

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Effect of variable power levels on the yield of total aerosol mass and formation of aldehydes in e-cigarette aerosols.

I.G. Gillman, K.A. Kistler, E.W. Stewart … (2016)

The study objective was to determine the effect of variable power applied to the atomizer of refillable tank based e-cigarette (EC) devices. Five different devices were evaluated, each at four power levels. Aerosol yield results are reported for each set of 25 EC puffs, as mass/puff, and normalized for the power applied to the coil, in mass/watt. The range of aerosol produced on a per puff basis ranged from 1.5 to 28 mg, and, normalized for power applied to the coil, ranged from 0.27 to 1.1 mg/watt. Aerosol samples were also analyzed for the production of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein, as DNPH derivatives, at each power level. When reported on mass basis, three of the devices showed an increase in total aldehyde yield with increasing power applied to the coil, while two of the devices showed the opposite trend. The mass of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein produced per gram of total aerosol produced ranged from 0.01 to 7.3 mg/g, 0.006 to 5.8 mg/g, and <0.003 to 0.78 mg/g, respectively. These results were used to estimate daily exposure to formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein from EC aerosols from specific devices, and were compared to estimated exposure from consumption of cigarettes, to occupational and workplace limits, and to previously reported results from other researchers.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Nadja Mallock:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7109-0766

Nadja.Mallock@bfr.bund.de

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Arch Toxicol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Arch. Toxicol

Title: Archives of Toxicology

Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg (Berlin/Heidelberg )

ISSN (Print): 0340-5761

ISSN (Electronic): 1432-0738

Publication date (Electronic): 18 March 2020

Publication date PMC-release: 18 March 2020

Publication date (Print): 2020

Volume: 94

Issue: 6

Pages: 1985-1994

Affiliations

[1 ]GRID grid.417830.9, ISNI 0000 0000 8852 3623, Department of Chemical and Product Safety, , German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), ; Berlin, Germany

[2 ]GRID grid.14095.39, ISNI 0000 0000 9116 4836, Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Institute of Pharmacy, , Freie Universität Berlin, ; Berlin, Germany

[3 ]Official Chemical and Veterinary Surveillance Institute Sigmaringen (CVUA), Sigmaringen, Germany

Author information

Nadja Mallock http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7109-0766

Article

Publisher ID: 2716

DOI: 10.1007/s00204-020-02716-3

PMC ID: 7303078

PubMed ID: 32189038

SO-VID: 9cf15f11-8ff5-4aae-b335-04c47c88ecf1

License:

Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

Date received : 12 December 2019

Date accepted : 12 March 2020

Funding

Funded by: FundRef http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100008751, Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung;

Award ID: 1322-535

Award Recipient : Nadja Mallock

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Toxicology

Keywords: juul,electronic cigarette,nicotine salt,nicotine delivery,vapor chemistry,benzoic acid

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Toxicology

Keywords: juul, electronic cigarette, nicotine salt, nicotine delivery, vapor chemistry, benzoic acid

Trendy e-cigarettes enter Europe: chemical characterization of JUUL pods and its aerosols

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Journal of the Netherlands Society of Toxicology

Most cited references 34

Chemical hazards present in liquids and vapors of electronic cigarettes.

Prevalence of vaping and smoking among adolescents in Canada, England, and the United States: repeat national cross sectional surveys

Effect of variable power levels on the yield of total aerosol mass and formation of aldehydes in e-cigarette aerosols.

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