Comprehensive Chemical Characterization of the aerosol Emissions of a Vaping Product Based on a New Technology.

Introduction:
This article provides a comprehensive chemical characterization of the aerosol emissions of a vaping product based on a new technology. The study compares the emissions of this product with those of a coil-and-wick nicotine vaping product (e-cigarette). The new technology is a fabric-free stainless-steel mesh distiller plate that heats and aerosolizes the e-liquid in a single process, with a microporous structure for capillary-induced liquid transformation (wicking) and aerosolization.

Key Points:

* The new vaping product generally had lower levels of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (hPhCs) emissions than the e-cigarette, including carbonyls.
* Formaldehyde and methyl glyoxal levels did not differ significantly between vaping products.
* The single mode of liquid transfer and vapor formation in the new vaping product permits high aerosol mass delivery but further reduces emissions of hPhCs that may be present in conventional e-cigarette aerosol.
* The study used five independent replicate measurements per sample, comprising randomly selected devices and cartridges, and each e-cigarette sample run was paired with a simultaneous collection of air blanks to give an estimate of laboratory background levels at that time point.
* The health Canada Intense smoking regime was chosen for machine smoking, and the CORESTa e-cigarette method was the working standard.
* The test products were sampled from the factory at a single point in time, and each e-liquid was prepared in a single batch operation.
* The samples were quality-control checked to ensure compliance with product specification prior to dispatch to the testing laboratory.
* The test methods included analysis for 142 chemicals and 8 collated measures, covering a comprehensive range of hPhCs of cigarette smoke and potential constituents of concern in EC(BT).

Main Message:
The new vaping product, based on a fabric-free stainless-steel mesh distiller plate technology, significantly reduces emissions of hPhCs compared with coil-and-wick nicotine vaping products. The single mode of liquid transfer and vapor formation in this system permits high aerosol mass delivery while further reducing emissions of hPhCs, making it a potentially reduced-risk tobacco or nicotine product. The study's findings support the principle of tobacco harm reduction, which is based on the replacement of high-risk tobacco products with potentially reduced-risk tobacco or nicotine products.

Nicol J, Fraser R, Walker L, Liu C, Murphy J, Proctor CJ. Comprehensive Chemical Characterization of the aerosol Emissions of a Vaping Product Based on a New Technology. Chemical research in toxicology. 2020;33(3):789-799. doi:10.1021/acs.chemrestox.9b00442