INTRODUCTION The capability of a commercial waterpipe electric heater to simulate the waterpipe charcoal heating system using waterpipe tobacco consumption as a metric was evaluated, and a research-grade waterpipe electric heater to standardize waterpipe tobacco emission testing was designed. METHODS The experiment was conducted in two phases. In Phase 1, tobacco was heated using either charcoal or a commercial electric heater. The tobacco temperature was recorded during a 57-minute machine-smoking session and tobacco consumption was measured. In Phase 2, a similar procedure was followed using a novel research-grade electric heater. RESULTS In Phase 1, tobacco consumption using either charcoal or the commercial electric heater averaged 31.35% and 20.56%, respectively. In Phase 2, tobacco consumption using the research-grade electric heater, set at target temperatures
This work provides insights on waterpipe tobacco and waterpipe charcoal as potential sources of environmental toxicants. Selected harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) from ten U.S. commercial waterpipe tobacco filler products (before and after electric heating) and five waterpipe charcoal products (before and after burning) were investigated. The differences in quantities of HPHCs between the evaluated products appear to be affected by raw material properties and/or the manufacturing processes involved in product production. Trace metal quantities in waterpipe tobacco and charcoal products were observed after heating or burning conditions compared to unheated or unburned conditions, which could impact the environment through the generation of toxic tobacco product waste. This study demonstrates that waterpipe tobacco and waterpipe charcoal contain substantial quantities of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and trace metals (
i.e
., selenium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, nickel) before use and that extensive and varied changes in trace metal quantities take place as a result of heating, and more studies are needed to estimate the magnitude of the environmental impact of waterpipe tobacco use.
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