10.2. SR 09-08-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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E-cigarettes: an evidence update 67 A range of analytical methods was used, which may have contributed some variation. There is no established standard and different studies use diff erent approaches. Cheah et al., used gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detector [88]; Etter et al., gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and ultra high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector [92]; McAuley et al., gas chromatography coupled with nitrogen-phosphorus detector [90]; Goniewicz et al., gas chromatography coupled with thermionic specific detector [95]; Trehy et al., high- performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector [87]; Westenberger high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet/ visible spectroscopic detector [85]; Kubica et al., liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry [99]; and Kirschner et al., liquid chromatography coupled with time- of-flight mass spectrometry [93]. The data generated so far provide answers to three questions: Do e-liquids pose a poisoning hazard? The vast majority of vapers use ‘ready-made’ liquids in 10ml bottles, but some aficionados, primarily in the US, buy high concentration nicotine solutions in larger quantities for DIY dilution. An e-liquid was identified labelled as containing 210mg/ml which in fact contained only 150mg/ml [95] but even this may pose risk if ingested in larger volume. DIY liquids are rarely used in Europe, but for spurious reasons, Europe is poised to prohibit sales of products with nicotine concentrations above 20mg/ml. When this happens, the popularity of DIY e-liquids among dependent vapers, who now cannot access the products they need but can mix them themselves at home at low cost, may increase. ‘Ready-made’ e-liquids come in strengths of up to 36mg/ml nicotine, with the highest concentration recorded of 36.6mg/ml. This poses no risk of nicotine poisoning if used as intended. An overenthusiastic vaper, like someone who is over-smoking, receives a reliable warning via nausea. If the 10ml bottle of e-liquid was drunk, it would cause nausea and vomiting but would be unlikely to inflict serious harm. To protect young children from accidental exposure though, e-liquids should be in ‘childproof’ packaging. How accurate is product labelling? The real content exceeded markedly the labelled concentration only in samples where the declared content was very low (6mg/ml) and the real concentrations ranged up to 12mg/ml (ie still low levels). The most striking examples of inaccurate labelling concerned much lower nicotine levels than those declared in e -liquids confiscated in Singapore where EC are banned, for example, a liquid labelled as containing 24mg of nicotine contained only 3mg [88]. This however was most likely due to samples being several years old. Market competition seems to have led to improved standards as