SOUTHAMPTON, England,
September 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/
--
In the most comprehensive chemical comparison to date between
smoke and e-cigarette emissions, scientists at British American
Tobacco ("BAT") have found evidence that e-cigarette vapour* has
significantly lower levels of toxicants than conventional cigarette
smoke.
Analysis of vapour emitted by the Vype ePen - a commercially
available e-cigarette manufactured by Nicoventures, a company owned
by BAT, - revealed that toxicant levels in e-pen vapour were
92 to 99% lower (depending on which regulatory list of toxicants is
used) than in cigarette smoke. The findings were published
today in Chemical Research in Toxicology, a
peer-reviewed publication by the American Chemical Society.
While not representative of all vaping products, the findings
reinforce a growing body of research establishing the potential for
e-cigarettes to reduce the public heath impact of smoking.
The research is the first in a series of scientific papers from
BAT on the risk assessment of e-cigarette vapour to be published in
the coming months and throughout 2017.
Dr Kevin McAdam, Head of Next
Generation Product Risk Assessment at British American Tobacco
said:
"For us, it's essential that our
consumers know the products they are using are of the highest
quality. As a result, we believe it is important to look at and
evaluate the components of the vapour that is emitted and this is a
vital first step to understanding the true risk reduction potential
of e-cigarettes.
"Despite millions of people using e-cigarettes (the
current estimate in Great Britain
is 2.8 million), very little research exists on the chemical
make-up of the vapour. BAT is committed to setting the bar on
standards for product safety and quality based on robust scientific
assessments. That's why we have invested more than
£500 million in researching and developing a range of
products for consumers looking for less risky alternatives to
cigarettes."
Many in the public health community believe
e-cigarettes offer great potential for reducing the public
health impact of smoking. Public Health England, an executive
body of the UK Department of Health, recently published a report
saying that e-cigarettes are 95% less harmful than
cigarettes. Similarly, The Royal College of
Physicians has said that the public can be reassured that
e-cigarettes are likely to be much safer then smoking and that they
should be widely promoted as an alternative to cigarettes, though
called for additional research. Cancer Research UK, Action on
Smoking and Health, and the British Heart Foundation are also of
the view that e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful than
smoking.
BAT plans to follow this chemistry assessment with a series of
tests examining the biological impact of vapour on human cells, due
to be peer-reviewed and published over the coming year.
Notes to Editors:
*Vapour refers to the makeup of the
aerosol produced by an e-cigarette. In this instance it has been
compared to cigarette smoke. The results demonstrate the much
simpler composition of Vype e-pen e-cigarette vapour in comparison
to smoke.
Research findings and Methodology
- British American Tobacco tested for a total of 142
compounds, including those listed by the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) as harmful or potentially harmful (HPHC), and
by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Health Canada.
- The products tested were Vype ePen Blended Tobacco flavour
and the Kentucky Reference Cigarette 3R4F. The products were puffed
using puffing robots in separate rooms and the emissions collected.
Because the levels of some constituents in e-cigarette vapour were
anticipated to be very low, the air was also tested to eliminate
the possibility of contamination and false positives.
- Independent contract labs were commissioned to quantify the
following emissions: carbon/nitrogen oxides, carbonyls/dicarbonyls,
alcohols/di-alcohols, phenols, o-heterocycles, chlorinated
dioxins/furans; volatile, substituted and, polynuclear aromatic
hydrocarbons; amides, azines, aromatic and aliphatic amines,
nicotine & related compounds, nitrosamines, metals and
radionuclides (shown below).
- Comparison of toxicant emissions between Vype ePen and 3R4F
were conducted on a per-puff basis. The results revealed a
reduction of 99% for WHO and FDA truncated lists, and over 92% for
the full FDA HPHC list.
- Three aerosol constituents were measured at higher per-puff
levels in e-cigarette vapour than from 3R4F - propylene glycol
(PG), vegetable glycerine (VG) and menthol. PG and
VG are used to make e-liquid and menthol is used as a
flavour.
About British American Tobacco: British American Tobacco
is the world's second largest public tobacco group by global market
share, with brands sold in over 180 markets and employing over
50,000 people.
About Next Generation Products (NGP): The NGP division of
British American Tobacco is focused on increasing consumer choice
through developing a range of less risky nicotine and tobacco
products for adult smokers including Tobacco Heating Products,
Vapour products and Licensed Medicines. For more information
see http://www.goVype.com and http://www.bat-science.com.
About Tobacco Harm Reduction: The only way to avoid the
risks associated with tobacco use is not to consume tobacco at all,
and the best way to reduce the risks is to stop using tobacco.
However, the concept of harm reduction is increasingly being
considered in relation to tobacco use. Harm reduction is about
finding practical ways to minimise the health impact of an
inherently risky activity or behaviour, without seeking to stop it
entirely. It is a key element of BAT's business strategy and is
being discussed by some regulators. An example of harm reduction in
action is the use of seat belts and airbags in cars. We think it's
important to work towards producing consumer-acceptable,
potentially reduced risk products. We believe that tobacco
regulatory policies should include harm reduction approaches for
the millions of adults globally who will continue to consume
tobacco products.