New publications

Across the world availability of flavour accessories for tobacco products            Havermans, A. et al, Tobacco Control Published Online First: 05 April (2024) RIVM investigated the availability and marketing of flavor accessories for combustible tobacco products across eight countries worldwide. Using a standardized search method, local informants gathered information from web shops in Brazil, India, Italy, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA. Various flavor accessories such as capsules, cards, filter tips, drops, sprays, and more were found, totaling 118 unique flavors, mostly fruity and sweet. These products often circumvent flavor bans and pose public health concerns by enticing users with attractive flavors. As flavor accessories are not regulated like tobacco products, RIVM recommends policymakers to include them in comprehensive flavor bans to address this regulatory gap and enhance tobacco control measures.

In Vitro Assessment of Translocation and Toxicological Effects of Nicotine and Ethyl Maltol from e-Cigarettes Using Air–Liquid Interface-Cultured Bronchial Epithelial CellsStaal, Y.C.M. et al, Applied In Vitro Toxicology 10:1, 1-14 (2024) The use of e-cigarettes increases rapidly. Still, only little information is available on the effects of flavourants in e-cigarettes. Cell models of the lungs were used to determine the effects of e-cigarette vapour with nicotine and ethyl maltol. Both nicotine and ethyl maltol were found to induce an inflammatory response in lung cells. Also, both compounds are able to cross the lung barrier, meaning that they could enter the blood stream and reach other organs in the human body. Finally, our results show that it is important to measure concentrations at the site of the cells.

Reducing attractiveness of e-liquids: proposal for a restrictive list of tobacco-related flavourings Pennings J.L.A. et al., Tobacco Control 33:e41-e47 (2024). The Dutch government announced in 2020 to only allow tobacco flavours in e-liquids. We propose a restrictive list of flavourings that will only enable the production of e-liquids with a tobacco flavour. We used ingredient data for tobacco flavoured e-liquids notified via the European Common Entry Gate system. We applied selection criteria related to prevalence of use, chemical composition, flavour description and health effects to compile a restrictive list of tobacco flavourings. This resulted in a final list of 16 flavourings.

Menthol and related compounds in waterpipe products Bakker-’t Hart I. et al., Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, 10 (2024). Menthol-like compounds that provide flavoring or cooling effects are found in nearly all investigated products, including waterpipe tobacco, steam stones and herbal molasses. Waterpipe products without menthol or similar indicators in product names were found to frequently contain menthol-like substances. Cooling substances are banned in tobacco products by the tobacco products directive, therefore these findings can support regulation of waterpipe tobacco.

Context matters: Neural processing of food-flavored e-cigarettes and the influence of smoking Hellmich, I.M. et al., Biological Psychology (2024). Measured neural and subjective responses to food odors in a 2 (sweet vs. savory odor) x2 (food vs. e-cigarette context) x2 (smokers vs. non-smokers) design. The authors identified that flavor perception and processing differs between the contexts of eating and vaping. Smoking did not have an influence. Our results indicate that the principles of flavor preference in food cannot directly be applied to e-cigarettes and that it is challenging to design sweet and savory e-cigarettes to appeal to smokers only.

An ingredient co-occurrence network gives insight into e-liquid flavor complexityPennings, J.L.A. et al.,  Tob Induc Dis. 22 (2024). Determined if there are e-cigarette ingredients that are frequently used together. The authors identified frequently co-occurring flavor ingredient pairs and illustrate how these ingredients act together to create (more) attractive flavors. These results show that the flavor of e-liquids is more than just the sum of its parts.