Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers
Abstract Flavored electronic cigarettes (ECs) present a serious health challenge globally. Currently, it is unknown whether the addition of highly popular menthol flavoring to e-liquid is associated with changes in the number of aerosolized particles generated or altered lung function. Here, we firs...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Respiratory Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-023-02410-9 |
| _version_ | 1797845834389258240 |
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| author | Divay Chandra Rachel F. Bogdanoff Russell P. Bowler Kambez H. Benam |
| author_facet | Divay Chandra Rachel F. Bogdanoff Russell P. Bowler Kambez H. Benam |
| author_sort | Divay Chandra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Flavored electronic cigarettes (ECs) present a serious health challenge globally. Currently, it is unknown whether the addition of highly popular menthol flavoring to e-liquid is associated with changes in the number of aerosolized particles generated or altered lung function. Here, we first performed preclinical studies using our novel robotic platform Human Vaping Mimetic Real-Time Particle Analyzer (HUMITIPAA). HUMITIPAA generates fresh aerosols for any desired EC in a very controlled and user-definable manner and utilizes an optical sensing system to quantitate and analyze sub-micron and microparticles from every puff over the course of vaping session in real-time while emulating clinically relevant breathing mechanics and vaping topography. We discovered that addition of menthol flavoring to freshly prepared e-liquid base propylene glycol–vegetable glycerin leads to enhanced particle counts in all tested size fractions, similar to the effect of adding vitamin E acetate to e-liquid we previously reported. Similarly, we found that menthol vs. non-menthol (tobacco) flavored pods from commercially available ECs leads to generation of significantly higher quantities of 1–10 µm particles upon inhalation. We then retrospectively analyzed data from the COPDGene study and identified an association between the use of menthol flavored ECs and reduced FEV1% predicted and FEV1/FVC independent of age, gender, race, pack-years of smoking, and use of nicotine or cannabis-containing vaping products. Our results reveal an association between enhanced inhaled particle due to menthol addition to ECs and worse lung function indices. Detailed causal relation remains to be demonstrated in future large-scale prospective clinical studies. Importantly, here we demonstrate utility of the HUMITIPAA as a predictive enabling technology to identify inhalation toxicological potential of emerging ECs as the chemical formulation of e-liquid gets modified. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:45:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c22cd52cbb9a423da5406eb53e2fd079 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1465-993X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:45:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Respiratory Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-c22cd52cbb9a423da5406eb53e2fd0792023-04-16T11:23:12ZengBMCRespiratory Research1465-993X2023-04-0124111110.1186/s12931-023-02410-9Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokersDivay Chandra0Rachel F. Bogdanoff1Russell P. Bowler2Kambez H. Benam3Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of PittsburghDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of PittsburghDivision of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, National Jewish HealthDivision of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of PittsburghAbstract Flavored electronic cigarettes (ECs) present a serious health challenge globally. Currently, it is unknown whether the addition of highly popular menthol flavoring to e-liquid is associated with changes in the number of aerosolized particles generated or altered lung function. Here, we first performed preclinical studies using our novel robotic platform Human Vaping Mimetic Real-Time Particle Analyzer (HUMITIPAA). HUMITIPAA generates fresh aerosols for any desired EC in a very controlled and user-definable manner and utilizes an optical sensing system to quantitate and analyze sub-micron and microparticles from every puff over the course of vaping session in real-time while emulating clinically relevant breathing mechanics and vaping topography. We discovered that addition of menthol flavoring to freshly prepared e-liquid base propylene glycol–vegetable glycerin leads to enhanced particle counts in all tested size fractions, similar to the effect of adding vitamin E acetate to e-liquid we previously reported. Similarly, we found that menthol vs. non-menthol (tobacco) flavored pods from commercially available ECs leads to generation of significantly higher quantities of 1–10 µm particles upon inhalation. We then retrospectively analyzed data from the COPDGene study and identified an association between the use of menthol flavored ECs and reduced FEV1% predicted and FEV1/FVC independent of age, gender, race, pack-years of smoking, and use of nicotine or cannabis-containing vaping products. Our results reveal an association between enhanced inhaled particle due to menthol addition to ECs and worse lung function indices. Detailed causal relation remains to be demonstrated in future large-scale prospective clinical studies. Importantly, here we demonstrate utility of the HUMITIPAA as a predictive enabling technology to identify inhalation toxicological potential of emerging ECs as the chemical formulation of e-liquid gets modified.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-023-02410-9MentholElectronic cigarettePulmonary toxicityLung functionRobotic human vaping mimetic real-time particle analyzerHUMITIPAA |
| spellingShingle | Divay Chandra Rachel F. Bogdanoff Russell P. Bowler Kambez H. Benam Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers Respiratory Research Menthol Electronic cigarette Pulmonary toxicity Lung function Robotic human vaping mimetic real-time particle analyzer HUMITIPAA |
| title | Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers |
| title_full | Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers |
| title_fullStr | Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers |
| title_short | Electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub-micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers |
| title_sort | electronic cigarette menthol flavoring is associated with increased inhaled micro and sub micron particles and worse lung function in combustion cigarette smokers |
| topic | Menthol Electronic cigarette Pulmonary toxicity Lung function Robotic human vaping mimetic real-time particle analyzer HUMITIPAA |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-023-02410-9 |
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