Title: Evaluation of E-Vapor Nicotine and Nicotyrine Concentrations under Various E-Liquid Compositions, Device Settings, and Vaping Topographies.

Authors: Son, Yeongkwon; Wackowski, Olivia; Weisel, Clifford; Schwander, Stephan; Mainelis, Gediminas; Delnevo, Cristine; Meng, Qingyu

Published In Chem Res Toxicol, (2018 09 17)

Abstract: Nicotine is one of the major components of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) emissions. Nicotyrine is a product of nicotine dehydrogenation in e-vapor and is a known inhibitor of human cytochrome P450 enzyme, which mediates nicotine metabolism. However, the emission of nicotine and especially nicotyrine from e-cigarettes has not been studied under real-world vaping patterns. This study examined the impact of e-liquid composition, e-cigarette device power output, and vaping topography on nicotine and nicotyrine concentrations under real-world vaping patterns. The amount of nicotine emitted from e-cigarettes vaped at high e-liquid nicotine levels, high device power, and large puff volumes ranged from 0.365 μg/puff to 236 μg/puff and was comparable to the amount of nicotine emitted from regular cigarettes. E-cigarette coil temperatures (200-300 °C) favored the formation of nicotyrine: E-cigarette vaping generated 2- to 63-fold more nicotyrine per unit nicotine emission than conventional cigarette smoking. High nicotyrine emission from e-cigarettes indicates that nicotine metabolism could be potentially interrupted, which could lead to reduced e-cigarette usage, and result in lower exposures to toxic chemicals (e.g., formaldehyde and acetaldehyde). However, higher serum nicotine levels might increase cancer risks by stimulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAchRs).

PubMed ID: 30080399

MeSH Terms: Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems/instrumentation*; Humans; Nicotine/analogs & derivatives; Nicotine/analysis*; Vaping*