Initial ratings of different types of e-cigarettes and relationships between product appeal and nicotine delivery

Introduction:
This text is a summary of a scientific study investigating the relationship between e-cigarette product characteristics and user's initial reactions. The study aims to determine how nicotine delivery and other product characteristics influence user's initial reactions by testing eight brands of e-cigarettes and comparing them with participants' own devices. The study also explores the relationship between product appeal and nicotine delivery.

Key Points:

* The study involved 15 vapers who tested each product after overnight abstinence from both smoking and vaping.
* The products tested included six "cig-a-like" products and two refillable products, one with variable voltage.
* All products significantly reduced urges to smoke, but refillable products delivered more nicotine and received generally superior ratings in terms of craving relief, subjective nicotine delivery, throat hit, and vapor production.
* Participants' estimates of nicotine delivery from different EC were closely linked to "throat hit."
* Nicotine delivery was less important in the initial product ratings than draw resistance, mouthpiece comfort, and effects on reducing the urge to smoke.
* The first impressions of EC products are guided less by nicotine delivery than by sensory signals.
* The study highlights the importance of considering both nicotine delivery and sensory signals in the design and regulation of e-cigarette products.

Main Message:

The study emphasizes the importance of considering both nicotine delivery and sensory signals in the design and regulation of e-cigarette products. While nicotine delivery is an essential factor in e-cigarette use, other product characteristics, such as draw resistance, mouthpiece comfort, and throat hit, also play a significant role in user's initial reactions and product appeal. Therefore, a holistic approach that considers all these factors is necessary for effective e-cigarette regulation and design.

Hajek, Peter, Dunja Przulj, Anna Phillips-Waller, Rebecca Anderson, and Hayden McRobbie. “Initial Ratings of Different Types of E-Cigarettes and Relationships between Product Appeal and Nicotine Delivery.” Psychopharmacology 235, no. 4 (April 2018): 1083–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-017-4826-z.