Strawberry flavour increases toxicity in e-cigarettes

New York: Are you addicted to flavoured e-cigarettes? If so, then think again before you use them.

A new study has found that flavouring added to electronic cigarettes, particularly strawberry, impacts the toxicity of the devices.

The research also mentioned that increasing the battery output voltage of these devices significantly increases toxicity.

"This study suggests that various characteristics of e-cigarettes, including any flavourings, may induce inhalation toxicity and therefore, caution should be used with these products until more comprehensive studies are performed," said Maciej Goniewicz, Assistant Professor at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, at New York, in the US.

In this study, published in the journal Tobacco Control, researchers exposed bronchial cells to aerosol generated from several variable-voltage e-cigarettes and analysed cell viability and activity as well as the release of inflammatory mediators. 

They evaluated six types of e-cigarette devices filled with liquids of different flavours -- tobacco, pina colada, menthol, coffee and strawberry -- at several battery output voltages. 

Their findings suggested that the power of the e-cigarette device, as well as the addition of any flavourings, significantly affect the toxicity of e-cigarette aerosol, with strawberry being the most toxic to users.

"Our study demonstrates that e-cigarette products differ significantly in the degree of their cellular toxicity to bronchial epithelial cells," Goniewicz added. 

These findings have important regulatory implications, because the features of e-cigarette products -- such as the power of the device and the presence of flavourings -- can be regulated and standardised.