The chemical composition of e-cigarette liquids sold in Australia is breathtaking – including known respiratory irritants, unidentified compounds and nicotine in what should be nicotine-free products.
A recent analysis of ten samples of e-cigarette liquids bought online and over the counter from local suppliers found nicotine in six of the products.
Yet it is illegal to sell, buy or use e-cigarettes that contain nicotine in Australia, note researchers from the Telethon Kids Institute and the University of WA.
“The fact that nicotine was present has important implications for addiction and health, and reflects its use in the e-cigarette liquid manufacturing process,” they wrote in the MJA.
In addition to the propylene glycol/glycerine excipient in the liquid, the analysis also found substances such as 2-amino-octanoic, hexadecanoic and octadecanoic acids.
“2-amino-octanoic acid is a metabolite occasionally found in mammalian blood, urine and faeces; its presence may indicate contamination by biological substances during manufacture.”
“Hexadecanoic and octadecanoic acids are relatively benign for humans, and are commonly used in foodstuffs, soaps, and detergents, but it is not known whether they affect health when heated and inhaled.”
The analysis also found 2-chlorophenol – a compound commonly used in insecticides, herbicides, and disinfectants – in all ten e-liquids.
“There is no Safework Australia exposure standard for 2-chlorophenol, but it is known to be a respiratory and dermal irritant,” the researchers said.
Seven chemicals in the e-liquids could not be identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
“Most other substances were flavours (anisaldehyde, menthol, vanillin, ethylvanillin), flavouring precursors (isoeugenol), or solvents (triacetin, benzyl alcohol). These chemicals are common e-cigarette liquid ingredients, and are generally regarded as safe for ingestion or dermal exposure, but their effects on health when heated, aerosolised, and inhaled are unknown.”
None of the purchased e-liquids disclosed ingredient information beyond ‘vague reporting of the excipient mix and the absence of nicotine’.