ArticleTobacco control2016
Flavour chemicals in electronic cigarette fluids.
Article in Tobacco control, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 195 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
195 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 364 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pulmonary effects of e-liquid flavors: a systematic review.Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Flavor-Toxicant Correlation in E-cigarettes: A Meta-Analysis.Chemical research in toxicology · 2020Pooled it
- People smoke for nicotine, but lose sexual and reproductive health for tar: a narrative review on the effect of cigarette smoking on male sexuality and reproduction.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2020Pooled it
- The Effects of E-Cigarette Vapor Components on the Morphology and Function of the Male and Female Reproductive Systems: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Genotoxic and Carcinogenic Potential of Compounds Associated with Electronic Cigarettes: A Systematic Review.BioMed research international · 2019Pooled it
- A systematic review of consumer preference for e-cigarette attributes: Flavor, nicotine strength, and type.PloS one · 2018Pooled it
- Overview of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems: A Systematic Review.American journal of preventive medicine · 2017Pooled it
- The effects of inhaled flavors on intravenous nicotine.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2021Trial
- Patterns of and reasons for electronic cigarette use in primary care patients.Journal of general internal medicine · 2017Trial
- Nanomolar vanillin, an e-cigarette flavorant, appears to disrupt pluripotency and promote endodermal differentiation in human embryonic stem cells via TRPV4 activation.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Acute effects of electronic nicotine delivery system liquid nicotine form and sweet enhancer among people who use inhaled tobacco products.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Vape flavoring chemicals and oral fibroblast viability.Anatomy & cell biology · 2026Review
- Comparative toxicity of menthol- and tobacco-flavored electronic cigarette constituents inducing inflammation, epithelial barrier dysfunction, and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor modulation in the absence of nicotine.Toxicology reports · 2026Article
- Water addition to e-liquids to reduce flavour aldehyde acetal formation: chemistry and user sensory experience and appeal.Tobacco control · 2026Article
- Toxicity, Chemistry, and Public Health Relevance of Emerging Nicotine Analog Vapes, Pods, and Pouches.Chemical research in toxicology · 2026Review
- Flavoring Compound Chemical Class and Vaping Conditions Determine Toxic Carbonyl Emissions from E-Cigarettes.Chemical research in toxicology · 2026Article
- Effects of commercial unflavored and vanilla-flavored e-liquids on nicotine intake and withdrawal.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Toxicity of humectants propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin in electronic nicotine delivery systems.Toxicology letters · 2025Review
- Unraveling the Toxicological Effects of Hydroxyacetone - A Reaction Product in Electronic Cigarette Aerosols.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
135 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMost e-cigarette liquids contain flavour chemicals. Flavour chemicals certified as safe for ingestion by the Flavor Extracts Manufacturers Association may not be safe for use in e-cigarettes. This study identified and measured flavour chemicals in 30 e-cigarette fluids.
methodsTwo brands of single-use e-cigarettes were selected and their fluids in multiple flavour types analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. For the same flavour types, and for selected confectionary flavours (eg, bubble gum and cotton candy), also analysed were convenience samples of e-cigarette fluids in refill bottles from local 'vape' shops and online retailers.
resultsIn many liquids, total flavour chemicals were found to be in the ∼1-4% range (10-40 mg/mL); labelled levels of nicotine were in the range of 0.6-2.4% (6 to 24 mg/mL). A significant number of the flavour chemicals were aldehydes, a compound class recognised as 'primary irritants' of mucosal tissue of the respiratory tract. Many of the products contained the same flavour chemicals: vanillin and/or ethyl vanillin was found in 17 of the liquids as one of the top three flavour chemicals, and/or at ≥0.5 mg/mL.
conclusionsThe concentrations of some flavour chemicals in e-cigarette fluids are sufficiently high for inhalation exposure by vaping to be of toxicological concern. Regulatory limits should be contemplated for levels of some of the more worrisome chemicals as well as for total flavour chemical levels. Ingredient labeling should also be required.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.