NEWS
A COMPREHENSIVE CHEMICAL
ANALYSIS OF AN E-CIGARETTE AEROSOL
By Marina Murphy, BAT
These past few years have seen a
lot of talk and a lot of press coverage
about what exactly is in an e-cigarette
aerosol. Most people understand very
well that what goes in (to the e-liquid) is
not the same as what comes out (vapour).
The process of heating the e-liquid
creates some new compounds
depending on the components of
the e-liquid and the device used.
So knowing exactly what the aerosol
is composed of, is a vital first step to
understanding the potential for reducing
risk. Given how many people now use
e-cigarettes (current estimates in Great
Britain is 2.8M people (ASH factsheet
number 33, May 2016), it is perhaps
surprising to think that to date, there
have been few studies or publications
examining the broad chemical
composition of whole e-cigarette
aerosols, with most studies focusing
on specific compound groups.
Some specific compounds or groups
of compounds do of course warrant
special attention, but it is important
to understand the nature of the whole
e-cigarette aerosol especially in the
context of how it compares with smoke
and how it will impact consumers’ overall
exposure to toxicants.
A new study (in press) has desc ribed
the most comprehensive chemical
30 ISSUE 06 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE
comparison to date of the vapour from
a closed modular e-cigarette
(Vype ePen) and cigarette smoke.
The results show significant reductions,
on average 95%,in toxicants in the
vapour of the e-cigarette tested
compared to cigarette smoke.
TOXICANTS AND TESTING
So what toxicants to test for?
Cigarette smoke has been the subject
of intense study for a long time, so there
is a lot of information on what is in there.
Over six thousand compounds have
been identified as being present in the
swirling mix of chemicals that is cigarette
smoke, of which about 150 compounds
are known to be toxicants.
Which compounds do we need
to be concerned about and which
compounds do we need to be testing
for in e-cigarette aerosols?
The question of which compounds in
cigarette smoke are the most significant
in terms of disease risk is something
that scientists and regulators have
been looking at for a number of years.
They haven’t all come up with exactly
the same answers but they have provided
guidance on which compounds they
deem to be harmful or potentially harmful.
In this study, scientists from British
American Tobacco tested for a total
of 142 compounds in vapour from
Vype ePen, a commercially available
e-cigarette. These compounds include
those listed by the US Food and Drug
Administration as harmful or potentially
harmful (HPHC), compounds listed
by the World Health Organisation,
and compounds listed by Health Canada.
A comparison between the vapour from
Vype ePen and 3R4F – a reference
cigarette – revealed substantial
reductions in the e-Pen emissions
for all toxicant groups measured,
on average 95%. Most cigarette smoke
toxicants could not be detected in the
e-cigarette vapour.
This and other tests form part of a
suite of tests being developed at British
American Tobacco to test novel tobacco
and nicotine products and could be
used to help develop standards for
these products in the future.
An independent regulatory approved
laboratory was used to conduct the
testing and the products were puffed
using puffing robots in separate rooms
and the emissions collected.
Because the levels of some constituents
in e-cigarette vapour were anticipated
to be very low, the laboratory air was
also tested to eliminate the possibility
of contamination and false positives.
The following aerosol constituents