Puffing topography and mouth level exposure of two closed-system Vype e-cigarettes

Abstract

<p>E-cigarettes have the potential to reduce the harm caused by cigarette smoking; however, product likeability and product satisfaction are important in encouraging smokers to switch to less harmful products. Actual use studies play a key part in evaluating the reduced risk potential of tobacco and nicotine products. User’s puffing behaviour, including puff duration and sensory effects were evaluated for two types of e-cigarette device: a coil-and-wick ‘pen-type’ device (Vype ePen3), and a ceramic block-and-plate ‘pod-type’ device (Vype ePod) with 18 mg/ml nicotine e-liquid. Puffing topography was recorded for these devices with two groups (n=52 each) of adult regular vapers (age 21-64 years) following a fixed 10 puffs protocol where subjects vaped through a special holder attached to a puffing analyser. The sensory characteristics of the aerosol were evaluated using a questionnaire. Mean puff volume was significantly greater (p≤0.0001) for ePen3 than for ePod (79.8 vs 49.4 ml), while puff duration and puff interval were similar (2.13 vs 2.29 s and 8.9 vs 10.3 s, respectively). Notably, MLE to aerosol and nicotine from ePen3 and ePod were similar (3.89 vs 4.80 mg and 0.06 vs 0.07 mg respectively) despite of very different designs of the devices. Participants reported similar overall likeability and other sensory scores for ePen3 and ePod. In summary, the puffing topography attributes support the CORESTA recommended method no. 81, (CRM81) puffing regime, used for <em>in vitro</em> and chemical analysis. The MLE to nicotine per session from both the products were lower than a typical 6 mg cigarette.</p>