AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
Effects of User Puff Topography, Device Power, and Liquid Nicotine Concentration on Electronic Cigarette Nicotine Yield: Measurements and Model Predictions
Soha Talih, Zainab Balhas, Thomas Eissenberg, Rola Salman, Nareg Karaoghlanian, Ahmad El Hellani, Rima Baalbaki, Najat A. Saliba, ALAN SHIHADEH, American University of Beirut
Abstract Number: 583 Working Group: Health Related Aerosols
Abstract Electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) are a product category that encompasses a wide range of technologies and use methods. They are marketed as non-combusting nicotine delivery devices that use an electrically-powered element to heat a liquid to form an inhalable aerosol. While controversy over their potential public health consequences rages, there is little available empirical data on the factors that influence ECIG aerosol emissions and delivery as regulatory agencies consider questions of product labeling and abuse liability. In this study we examined how user puffing behavior, ECIG liquid composition, and ECIG design features influence nicotine emissions. ECIG aerosols were generated using 5 distinct puffing profiles that represented a range of plausible ECIG use behaviors. In addition, electrical power (3.0–7.5W) and e-liquid nicotine concentration (18-36 mg/mL) were varied. A theoretical model based on mass and energy conservation principles and boundary layer theory was also developed to simulate the ECIG aerosol production process and to provide insight into the empirical observations. The model inputs include product design features and operating conditions, as well as puff behavior and thermophysical properties of the ECIG solution. We found that nicotine emissions varied by more than 50-fold across conditions, and that under some conditions a few ECIG puffs can produce as much nicotine as an entire conventional tobacco cigarette. Puffing profiles with longer puff durations resulted in disproportionately higher nicotine emissions, while puff flow rate had no effect on nicotine emissions. Higher nicotine concentration and higher voltages resulted in higher nicotine emissions. Measured nicotine emissions were highly correlated to the theoretical predictions (R2=0.99), indicating that ECIG emissions can be predicted using physical principles, with knowledge of puff topography and a few ECIG device design parameters.