Dataset Information

Electronic Cigarette Refill Liquids: Child-Resistant Packaging, Nicotine Content, and Sales to Minors.

ABSTRACT: To determine the accuracy of the labeled quantity of the nicotine content of the e-liquids sold in unlicensed vape stores, whether the packaging of e-liquids sold within the vape stores was child-resistant, whether minors were present within vape stores, and whether sales to minors occurred. This study was conducted across North Dakota prior to implementation of a new e-cigarette state law and provided a baseline assessment before enactment of the new legal requirements.We tested samples of e-liquids and performed observations in 16 stores that were selling e-cigarettes but were not legally required to be licensed for tobacco retail. The e-liquids were analyzed for nicotine content using a validated high-performance liquid chromatography method for nicotine analysis.Of the 70 collected e-liquid samples that claimed to contain nicotine, 17% contained more than the labeled quantity and 34% contained less than the labeled quantity by 10% or more, with one sample containing 172% more than the labeled quantity. Of the 94 e-liquid containers sampled, only 35% were determined to be child-resistant. Minors were present in stores, although no sales to minors occurred.Mislabeling of nicotine in e-liquids is common and exposes the user to the harmful effects of nicotine. The lack of child-resistant packaging for this potentially toxic substance is a serious public health problem. E-cigarettes should be included in the legal definition of tobacco products, child-resistant packaging and nicotine labeling laws should be enacted and strictly enforced, and vape stores should be licensed by states.

SUBMITTER: Buettner-Schmidt K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4914438 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Electronic Cigarette Refill Liquids: Child-Resistant Packaging, Nicotine Content, and Sales to Minors.

Buettner-Schmidt Kelly K Miller Donald R DR Balasubramanian Narayanaganesh N

Journal of pediatric nursing 20160412 4

<h4>Unlabelled</h4>To determine the accuracy of the labeled quantity of the nicotine content of the e-liquids sold in unlicensed vape stores, whether the packaging of e-liquids sold within the vape stores was child-resistant, whether minors were present within vape stores, and whether sales to minors occurred. This study was conducted across North Dakota prior to implementation of a new e-cigarette state law and provided a baseline assessment before enactment of the new legal requirements.<h4>De ...[more]

PMID: 27079973

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Project description:Importance:Banning electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) sales to minors has been a key policy to protect children from e-cigarettes in the United States and Canada, but to date little is known about the outcome of such a ban. Objectives:To investigate the association of banning e-cigarette sales to minors in Canada with e-cigarette use among youths and the mechanisms through which a ban might be associated with their e-cigarette use. Design, Setting, and Participants:This quasi-experimental difference-in-differences and triple-differences study used data from the nationally representative Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (2013-2017) and Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (2014-2017). Study samples consisted of respondents aged 15 to 18 years (in difference-in-differences analysis; n?=?8212) and aged 15 to 25 years (in triple-differences analysis; n?=?20?934) in the Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, and students in grades 6 to 12 (in difference-in-differences analysis; n?=?78?650) in the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey. Interventions:Canada's provincial bans on e-cigarette sales to youths younger than 18 or 19 years (depending on province) implemented between 2015 and 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures:The primary outcome was past 30-day e-cigarette use among youths. Secondary outcomes were difficulty of access to e-cigarettes, perception of e-cigarette harm, and use of social sources of e-cigarettes. Results:After the bans, e-cigarette use among youths increased in all provinces, but the increase was 3.1 percentage points (95% CI, 0.2-6.0; P?=?.04), or 79%, lower in provinces with a ban than in provinces without a ban. Youths in provinces with a ban were 2.6 percentage points (95% CI, 1.5-3.7; P?=?.001), or 18%, less likely to believe that regular e-cigarette use poses no harm and 6.2 percentage points (95% CI, 1.1-11.4; P?=?.02), or 16%, more likely to self-report greater difficulty in obtaining e-cigarettes. Among youths who reported using e-cigarettes, the likelihood of obtaining e-cigarettes from social sources was 17.3 percentage points (95% CI, 5.2 -29.4; P?=?.01), or 29%, higher in provinces with a ban. These findings were robust to several sensitivity analyses. Conclusions and Relevance:Banning e-cigarette sales to minors was associated with a significant reduction in the rate of increase in e-cigarette use by youths, but this policy alone could not reverse the overall increase in e-cigarette use. The findings from this study suggest that this policy should be supplemented with other measures that can reduce young people's desire to obtain e-cigarettes through social sources, such as a ban on e-cigarettes with flavors that appeal to youths and children.

Project description:IntroductionSugars are major constituents and additives in traditional tobacco products, but little is known about their content or related toxins (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein) in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) liquids. This study quantified levels of sugars and aldehydes in e-cigarette liquids across brands, flavors, and nicotine concentrations (n = 66).MethodsUnheated e-cigarette liquids were analyzed using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and enzymatic test kits. Generalized linear models, Fisher's exact test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient assessed sugar, aldehyde, and nicotine concentration associations.ResultsGlucose, fructose and sucrose levels exceeded the limits of quantification in 22%, 53% and 53% of the samples. Sucrose levels were significantly higher than glucose [χ2(1) = 85.9, p < .0001] and fructose [χ2(1) = 10.6, p = .001] levels. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein levels exceeded the limits of quantification in 72%, 84%, and 75% of the samples. Acetaldehyde levels were significantly higher than formaldehyde [χ2(1) = 11.7, p = .0006] and acrolein [χ2(1) = 119.5, p < .0001] levels. Differences between nicotine-based and zero-nicotine labeled e-cigarette liquids were not statistically significant for sugars or aldehydes. We found significant correlations between formaldehyde and fructose (-0.22, p = .004) and sucrose (-0.25, p = .002) and acrolein and fructose (-0.26, p = .0006) and sucrose (-0.21, p = .0006). There were no significant correlations between acetaldehyde and any of the sugars or any of the aldehydes and glucose.ConclusionsSugars and related aldehydes were identified in unheated e-cigarette liquids and their composition may influence experimentation in naïve users and their potential toxicity.ImplicationsThe data can inform the regulation of specific flavor constituents in tobacco products as a strategy to protect young people from using e-cigarettes, while balancing FDA's interest in how these emerging products could potentially benefit adult smokers who are seeking to safely quit cigarette smoking. The data can also be used to educate consumers about ingredients in products that may contain nicotine and inform future FDA regulatory policies related to product standards and accurate and comprehensible labeling of e-cigarette liquids.

Dataset Information

Electronic Cigarette Refill Liquids: Child-Resistant Packaging, Nicotine Content, and Sales to Minors.

Publications

Electronic Cigarette Refill Liquids: Child-Resistant Packaging, Nicotine Content, and Sales to Minors.

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