Title: Flavor Preference and Systemic Immunoglobulin Responses in E-Cigarette Users and Waterpipe and Tobacco Smokers: A Pilot Study.

Authors: Jackson, Monica; Singh, Kameshwar P; Lamb, Thomas; McIntosh, Scott; Rahman, Irfan

Published In Int J Environ Res Public Health, (2020 01 19)

Abstract: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use has had an exponential increase in popularity since the product was released to the public. Currently, there is a lack of human studies that assess different biomarker levels. This pilot study attempts to link e-cigarette and other tobacco product usage with clinical respiratory symptoms and immunoglobulin response. Subjects completed surveys in order to collect self-reported data on tobacco product flavor preferences. Along with this, plasma samples were collected to test for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and E (IgE) levels. Our pilot study's cohort had a 47.9% flavor preference towards fruit flavors and a 63.1% preference to more sweet flavors. E-cigarette and traditional cigarette smokers were the two subject groups to report the most clinical symptoms. E-cigarette users also had a significant increase in plasma IgE levels compared to non-tobacco users 1, and dual users had a significant increase in plasma IgG compared to non-tobacco users 2, cigarette smokers, and waterpipe smokers. Our pilot study showed that users have a preference toward fruit and more sweet flavors and that e-cigarette and dual use resulted in an augmented systemic immune response.

PubMed ID: 31963835

MeSH Terms: Consumer Behavior; Flavoring Agents/chemistry*; Immunoglobulin E/blood*; Immunoglobulin G/blood*; Pilot Projects; Smokers/classification; Smokers/psychology*; Taste*; Tobacco Use/psychology; Vaping/psychology; Water Pipe Smoking/psychology