Preliminary Results of an Examination of Electronic Cigarette User Puff Topography: The Effect of a Mouthpiece-Based Topography Measurement Device on Plasma Nicotine and Subjective Effects

Introduction:
This text is a scientific study examining the use of electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) and their impact on nicotine delivery, heart rate, and subjective effects in experienced ECIG users. The study also measures ECIG topography in experienced users, including variables that cannot be measured via observation.

Key Points:

* The study included 13 experienced ECIG users who used their preferred ECIG devices and liquids during two sessions, with or without a mouthpiece-based device to measure topography.
* The results showed that almost all measures of the effects of ECIG use were independent of topography measurement. Mean plasma nicotine concentration increased by 16.8 ng/ml, and mean heart rate increased by 8.5 bpm after ECIG use.
* Participants reported that the mouthpiece affected awareness and made ECIG use more difficult. Relative to previously reported data for tobacco cigarette smokers, ECIG-using participants took larger and longer puffs with lower flow rates.
* The study found that experienced ECIG users obtained physiologically active doses of nicotine and that some abstinence symptoms were suppressed after short-term ECIG use.
* The study is the first to measure puff volume and flow rate in experienced ECIG users, and the data indicate that ECIG and tobacco cigarette puff topography differ significantly.
* The study suggests that ECIG users learn to take longer puffs to increase nicotine delivery and to take slower puffs because faster ones take more effort.
* The low flow rates observed in ECIG users highlight the importance of using topography equipment that is sensitive to low flow rates in order to increase accuracy of ECIG topography measurement.

Main Message:
The main message of this study is that experienced ECIG users can obtain nicotine from their preferred device/liquid combinations, and the doses they receive can approach those observed in cigarette smokers, even after as few as 10 puffs. The study highlights the importance of using ECIG-specific topography hardware and software, as well as the potential value of programming machines used to generate tobacco product emissions with data that allow the machine to mimic the behavior of ECIG users. The study also emphasizes the need for more research to understand factors that influence ECIG nicotine yield and delivery.

Spindle, Tory R., Alison B. Breland, Nareg V. Karaoghlanian, Alan L. Shihadeh, and Thomas Eissenberg. “Preliminary Results of an Examination of Electronic Cigarette User Puff Topography: The Effect of a Mouthpiece-Based Topography Measurement Device on Plasma Nicotine and Subjective Effects.” Nicotine & Tobacco Research 17, no. 2 (February 2015): 142–49. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntu186.