ArticleAddictive behaviors reports2019
An exploration into "do-it-yourself" (DIY) e-liquid mixing: Users' motivations, practices and product laboratory analysis.
Article in Addictive behaviors reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 9 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
39 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2026Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Youth use of e-liquid flavours-a systematic review exploring patterns of use of e-liquid flavours and associations with continued vaping, tobacco smoking uptake or cessation.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Electronic cigarettes for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Effects of electronic cigarette e-liquid flavouring on cigarette craving.Tobacco control · 2023Trial
- Narrative Review of Novel Nicotine-Delivery Systems and Emerging Pharmaceuticals for Tobacco Cessation.Medicines (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Interactions Between e-Cigarette Use and Quit Intentions on Cigarette Smoking in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Other Non-Heterosexual or Cisgender Individuals.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026Article
- Cytotoxic and oxidative effects of commercially available propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG): Common humectants in electronic cigarettes.Toxicology reports · 2025Article
- Toxicity of humectants propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin in electronic nicotine delivery systems.Toxicology letters · 2025Review
- Impact of nicotine-free and nicotine-rich flavored electronic cigarette refill liquids on primary human melanocyte function.Toxicology reports · 2025Article
- Nicotine strength of e-liquids used by adult vapers in Great Britain: A population survey 2016 to 2024.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Article
- Reactions to a Hypothetical Ban of Open-System Electronic Cigarettes Among People Who Currently Use Electronic Cigarettes.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025Article
- A mixed-methods analysis of a do-it-yourself e-cigarette community on Reddit.Tobacco prevention & cessation · 2025Article
- E-cigarette flavoring chemicals and vehicles adversely impact the functions of pigmented human retinal ARPE-19 cells.Toxicology reports · 2024Article
- Chemical Composition of Electronic Vaping Products From School Grounds in California.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundE-liquids are commercially available and manufactured, however some users of e-cigarettes prefer to prepare them at home (Do-it-Yourself; DIY) using individual ingredients. To date there is a paucity of research on how and why users make their own e-liquids.
methodsForty-one European and US based exclusive users of e-cigarettes (ex-smokers) were individually interviewed. Structured interviews focused on motivations for home-mixing, practices, buying habits and broader themes around reasons for long-term vaping. We also measured nicotine and solvent concentrations and analysed 33 DIY e-liquids collected from 16 participants for nicotine, solvents, flavourings, and potentially harmful chemicals.
resultsThere were four main reasons for DIY: 1) economical (financial savings), 2) self-control over manufacturing process, 3) novelty, fun and 4) higher nicotine concentrations. Twelve out of 16 participants achieved nicotine concentration within 20% of their intended limit. Samples from five participants were above the EU Tobacco Products Directive's (TPD) 20 mg/ml nicotine concentration upper limit. Most samples contained more vegetable glycerine (VG) than propylene glycol (PG) and the most commonly used flavourings were dessert,
conclusionDIY may offer users of e-cigarettes a long-term affordable practical method of vaping. Recommended safety advice needs to reflect actual and fast moving user behaviour.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.