Tobacco and Mint Flavoured E-cigarettes: Chemical Analysis and Similarity to Prohibited Sweet Flavours

INTRODUCTION: In response to the growing popularity of e-cigarettes globally, particularly among younger non-smokers, many countries have introduced restrictions around the flavours of e-cigarette products. In Australia, current legislation restricts e-cigarettes to only tobacco, menthol and mint but does not specify the flavouring chemicals that may impart these flavours. METHODS: A convenience sample of e-liquids (N = 81), pods (N = 16) and disposable e-cigarettes (N = 43) that were "tobacco", "mint" or "menthol" flavoured were selected for analysis. Their chemical composition was determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). RESULTS: Most tobacco flavoured samples contained ethyl maltol (86.7%), a caramellic flavoured chemical. While no flavouring chemicals known to impart a tobacco flavour were identified, the synthetic coolant WS-23 was absent or detected in lower concentrations compared to sweet e-cigarette products analysed previously. A coolant chemical (menthol, WS-23 or WS-3) was detected in all mint/menthol samples, although many also contained fruity (26.2%), vanilla (19.7%) and caramellic (19.7%) flavouring chemicals, often with no indication in the flavour name. CONCLUSIONS: The composition of the tobacco flavoured samples was similar to prohibited sweeter e-cigarette products, with no common flavour chemicals identified which could be attributed to a tobacco flavour. The lack of coolants in tobacco flavoured e-cigarettes may increase their throat harshness, potentially aligning them more with the sensory experience of traditional cigarettes. While all mint/menthol samples contained coolants, fruity and sweet flavouring chemicals, characteristic of the products prohibited under the current legislation, were still detected in some samples.