Ethanol concentration in 56 refillable electronic cigarettes liquid formulations determined by headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (HS‐GC‐FID)

Abstract

Personal battery powered vaporizers or electronic cigarettes were developed as an alternative to traditional cigarettes. The modern electronic cigarettes were patented in 2004 by Hon Lik in China. In May 2016, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) imposed regulatory statutes on e-cigarettes and their liquid formulations (e-liquids); prior to that, they were unregulated. E-liquids are typically composed of propylene glycol and/or glycerin, flavoring component(s), and active ingredient(s), such as nicotine. Fifty-six commercially available e-liquids, purchased from various sources, contained a variety of flavors and active ingredients. A headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detector HS-GC-FID method was used to analyze these e-liquids for volatiles content. Only one of the e-liquids listed ethanol as a component. A headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detector HS-GC-FID method was used to analyze the e-liquids. The chromatographic separation of volatiles was performed on a Restek BAC-1 column. A linear calibration was generated for ethanol with limits of detection and quantification (LOD/LOQ) of 0.05 mg/mL. Ethanol concentrations in the fifty-six e-liquids ranged from none detected to 206 mg/mL. The ethanol determined in these products may have been used in flavorants or a solvent; the reason for inclusion cannot be fully ascertained. The implications of vaporizing ethanol as an e-liquid component are unknown.

Nicotine intoxication by e-cigarette liquids: a study of case reports and pathophysiology

“…Ethanol can be added to the PG/VG base as a solvent for flavourings or other additives. Despite extensive regulations on reporting all components, ethanol has frequently been found as an unlabelled ingredient in e-liquids available in the US [3]. It might be possible that ethanol contributed to the observed acidosis in our case reports as well, although the concentration in the used e-liquids was presumably too low for this effect.…”

“…However, e-cigarettes do not burn tobacco. Instead they vaporise e-liquid, a solution that is typically composed of nicotine, propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerine (VG) often supplemented with various flavouring compounds and/or ethanol [1][2][3]. The main benefit of ecigarettes is that they enable nicotine intake without exposure to many other, often hazardous, chemicals which are normally present in tobacco cigarettes [4].…”

“…Moreover, thanks to the internet, e-liquid refills are easily accessible. During the last decade, regulatory parameters for e-liquids with respect to, for example, labelling, packaging, health warning, sale and advertising are set forward worldwide [7][8][9], which likely will decrease discrepancies between actual content and labelling as found previously [3,10]. However, regulation has not been installed everywhere and often differs between countries [9].…”

Quantification of selected aroma compounds in e‐cigarette products and toxicity evaluation in HUVEC/Tert2 cells

“…The concentration of nicotine in the aerosol was determined to compare electronic cigarettes with tobacco cigarettes (Goniewicz, Hajek, & McRobbie, ) and nicotine impurities such as tobacco specific nitrosamines or tobacco alkaloids were quantified (Kataoka, Inoue, Yagi, & Saito, ; Kim & Shin, ). Headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detection was used to determine ethanol concentration in refillable electronic cigarettes liquid formulations (Poklis, Wolf, & Peace, ). Ethanol was determined in 53 of the 56 investigated e‐liquids.…”

Washout kinetics of ethanol from the airways following inhalation of ethanol vapors and use of mouthwash

“…For example, people sometimes use mouthwash as an explanation for a positive breath test [5]. Other examples of potential confounders are E-cigarette smoking (as the E-liquid may contain ethanol) [6,7], use of alcohol-based hand rubs, disinfectants or cleaners [8][9][10] and, oddly, alcohol spill in the car [11].…”