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TSRC, Tob. Sci. Res. Conf., 2018, 72, abstr. 006

Qualitative assessment of flavor ingredients in market electronic nicotine delivery systems

HUDSON A.G.(1); CULBERT C.G.(2)
(1) R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Winston-Salem, NC, USA; (2) RAI Services Company, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

As the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) grows, it may be useful to understand the types of flavor compounds that are being added as ingredients to the ENDS currently available on the market. A qualitative analysis of flavor compounds was performed using gas chromatography mass/spectrometry (GC/MS) on the aerosols from 5 market ENDS products. Two cig-a-like, one tank, and two pod mod closed products were assessed with tobacco, menthol, and fruit flavored cartridges. The flavor compounds identified were sorted into 11 chemical categories. The qualitative results showed that the majority of flavor compounds found in the tobacco flavored cartridges were organic acids (pungent, sour notes), phenolic/pyrone compounds (smoky, sweet notes), and pyrazines/pyridines (nutty, earthy, cocoa notes). The menthol flavored cartridges primarily contained terpenoids (herbal, earthy notes) and menthol-related compounds. The most complex mixture of flavor compounds was found in the fruit flavored cartridges, with the majority being esters (aromatic, sweet notes), organic acids, and alcohols (sharp, grassy notes). Compounds identified in ENDS from all 11 chemical categories are also commonly present in traditional tobacco products. In general, these analyses revealed that similar types of flavor compounds are being used within the ENDS market.