Why do you prefer one tobacco or vaping product over others?
Why do you prefer one tobacco or vaping product over others? Sure, factors such as advertising, product image and placement, taste, and convenience have a lot to do with your decision but a major driving force is pharmacology and biochemistry. Generally speaking, tobacco users and vapers (especially those trying to quit traditional, combustible cigarettes) seek products that deliver nicotine levels that are similar to what they received from cigarettes.
A new study examined this. Researchers and colleagues from the United Kingdom compared the nicotine delivery and “likeability” of the new Heat not Burn iQOS tobacco system, a smoker’s own brand of cigarettes, Juul (the US version containing a lot of nicotine-59 milligrams per milliliter {mg/ml})and refillable e-cigarettes using e-liquid with 20 mg per ml of nicotine.
Participants were instructed to remain tobacco-free overnight and then blood samples were taken both before smoking and vaping sessions and afterwards at intervals of 2,4,6,8,10 and 30 minutes. The maximum nicotine concentration (called Cmax), time to Cmax (called Tmax) and total nicotine delivered over the 30 minutes (called AUC0-30) were calculated. Generally, the higher the Cmax and the AUC and the shorter the Tmax, the more powerful the tobacco product is. The tobacco users and vapers also rated their urge to smoke and other subjective experiences with the products.
As you can see in this graph, the iQOS delivered less nicotine than either cigarettes or Juul. In fact, Juul delivered 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) in less than 5 minutes. Over the 30-minute study period, iQOS delivered about half as much total nicotine as the smoker’s own cigarette. In this study, users rated iQOS less favorably than Juul in terms of relief of urges, speed of urge relief and whether they would recommend the iQOS to their friends.
But the situation is more complicated than just that. These researchers also examined nicotine delivery of the iQOS compared to refillable e-cigarettes with 20 mg/ml tobacco flavored e-liquid.
At their peak the iQOS users received more than a 1/3 more nicotine than the e-cigarette users. Despite actual nicotine delivery which was lower than the iQOS, users rated the e-cigarettes as better at reducing urges to smoke.
The iQOS is a relatively new product and these e-cigarette users had no previous experience with the iQOS. Did lack of experience with the iQOS affect nicotine delivery and the users’ perceptions? Maybe.
WHAT IS THE MESSAGE FOR TOBACCO USERS AND VAPERS?
While we are not recommending any particular product for any particular tobacco user, it is helpful to have a full understand of product characteristics. Every smoker and vaper is different, everyone is an individual.
Knowing how much nicotine you are getting from each tobacco or vaping product you use, will help you make informed decisions. For example, is a Juul user getting significantly more nicotine than when they were smoking? Is a e-liquid vaper getting enough nicotine to eliminate their smoking urges?
Start with the MyNicotineTest Triple Play so you can know your nicotine levels. Knowledge is power and our world expert staff is here to help you at every step along your path to better health. Want to know more, click here https://intelliquit-consumer.myshopify.com?chat
Anna Phillips-Waller, BSc, Dunja Przulj, PhD, Francesca Pesola, PhD, Katie Myers Smith, PhD, Peter Hajek, PhD, Nicotine delivery and user ratings of IQOS heated tobacco system compared to cigarettes, Juul and refillable e-cigarettes, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2021;, ntab094, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntab094