Objectives: To assess the chemical composition of electronic cigarette liquids (e-liquids) sold in Australia, in both their fresh and aged forms.
Design, setting: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of commercial e-liquids sold in Australia (online and physical stores).
Main outcome measures: Chemical composition of 65 Australian e-liquids - excipients/solvents, flavouring chemicals, other known e-liquid constituents (including nicotine), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - before and after an accelerated ageing process that simulated the effects of vaping.
Results: The measured levels of propylene glycol and glycerol often diverged from those recorded on the e-liquid label. All e-liquids contained one or more potentially harmful chemicals, including benzaldehyde, menthol, trans-cinnamaldehyde, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Nicotine or nicotyrine were detected in a small proportion of e-liquids at extremely low concentrations.
Conclusions: Australian e-liquids contain a wide variety of chemicals for which information on inhalation toxicity is not available. Further analyses are required to assess the potential long term effects of e-cigarette use on health.
Keywords: Analytic chemistry; Electronic cigarettes.
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