Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35421170›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

Analysis and differentiation of tobacco-derived and synthetic nicotine products: Addressing an urgent regulatory issue.

Andrew G Cheetham, Susan Plunkett, Preston Campbell, Jacob Hilldrup, Bonnie G Coffa, Stan Gilliland, Steve Eckard

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
18citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Guideline
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trends in product characteristics of disposable e-cigarettes sold by US online stores between 2022 and 2024.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Classification, Perception, and Toxicity of Emerging Flavored Oral Nicotine Pouches.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
    Review
  15. Synthetic Nicotine: Science, Global Legal Landscape, and Regulatory Considerations.World Health Organization technical report series · 2023
    Article
  16. Emerging Oral Nicotine Products and Periodontal Diseases.International journal of dentistry · 2023
    Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Andrew G CheethamEnthalpy Analytical, LLC, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-9933-9877
Susan PlunkettEnthalpy Analytical, LLC, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.
Preston CampbellConsilium Sciences, LLC, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.
Jacob HilldrupEnthalpy Analytical, LLC, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.
Bonnie G CoffaEnthalpy Analytical, LLC, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.
Stan GillilandConsilium Sciences, LLC, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-5335-0886
Steve EckardEnthalpy Analytical, LLC, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

There is significant regulatory and economic need to distinguish analytically between tobacco-derived nicotine (TDN) and synthetic nicotine (SyN) in commercial products. Currently, commercial e-liquid and oral pouch products are available that contain tobacco-free nicotine, which could be either extracted from tobacco or synthesized. While tobacco products that contain TDN are regulated by FDA Center for Tobacco Products, those with SyN are currently not in the domain of any regulatory authority. This regulatory difference provides an economic incentive to use or claim the use of SyN to remain on the market without submitting a Premarket Tobacco Product Application. TDN is ~99.3% (S)-nicotine, whereas SyN can vary from racemic (50/50 (R)/(S)) to ≥ 99% (S)-nicotine, i.e., chemically identical to the tobacco-derived compound. Here we report efforts to distinguish between TDN and SyN in various samples by characterizing impurities, (R)/(S)-nicotine enantiomer ratio, (R)/(S)-nornicotine enantiomer ratio, and carbon-14 (14C) content. Only 14C analysis accurately and precisely differentiated TDN (100% 14C) from SyN (35-38% 14C) in all samples tested. 14C quantitation of nicotine samples by accelerator mass spectrometry is a reliable determinate of nicotine source and can be used to identify misbranded product labelled as containing SyN. This is the first report to distinguish natural, bio-based nicotine from synthetic, petroleum-based nicotine across a range of pure nicotine samples and commercial e-liquid products.

Indexed as

NicotineTobacco ProductsCarbon RadioisotopesTobacco UseCarbon RadioisotopesNicotine

Identifiers

PMID35421170
PMCPMC9009602

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.