Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov;31(Suppl 3):s223-s229.
doi: 10.1136/tc-2022-057469.

Changes in product labelling practices and the use of flavouring chemical additives in vaping products after enactment of statewide flavour legislation

Michelle K Page  1 , Ashleigh C Block  2 , Angel L Santiago  2 , Noel J Leigh  2 , Lisa M Kaiser  2 , Connor D Martin  2 , Bradley E Schurr  2 , Richard J O'Connor  2 , Maciej L Goniewicz  2
Affiliations

Changes in product labelling practices and the use of flavouring chemical additives in vaping products after enactment of statewide flavour legislation

Michelle K Page et al. Tob Control. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Introduction: On 18 May 2020, New York State enacted legislation banning the sale of vaping products with distinguishable flavours (other than tobacco). According to this new statute, vaping products are deemed flavoured if they include a statement, whether expressed or implied, that have distinguishable tastes or aromas other than tobacco. This study aimed to determine how manufacturers responded.

Methods: We collected 555 vaping products from daily vapers (238 preban and 317 postban). We compared preban and postban labelling of products for expressed and implied flavour descriptions, graphics and colours. Flavouring chemicals and concentrations were identified using chromatography methods and were compared preban and postban.

Results: Analysis of the labels preban and postban did not reveal a change in products with expressed flavoured descriptors (45.8% vs 44.2%) and a minimal decrease in implied descriptors (22.3% vs 14.5%). An increase in products without any descriptors was observed (28.2% vs 37.2%) notably within products from a popular pod brand. The average concentration of eight popular flavourings identified preban was 1.4±2.7 compared with 2.3±3.5 mg/mL (p<0.001) postban. No significant changes between individual flavouring concentrations in the most popular refill solutions and pods were found.

Conclusion: While a majority of products appeared to remain non-compliant, this study suggests that enactment of legislation on vaping products making expressed or implied flavour claims may result in some manufacturer changes to product labelling including removal of flavour descriptors. However, use of flavouring additives in vaping products appeared not to be impacted by the ban.

Keywords: Electronic nicotine delivery devices; Non-cigarette tobacco products; Packaging and Labelling; Public policy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: MLG reports grants from and served as an advisory board member to pharmaceutical companies that manufacture smoking cessation drugs. Other authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Inclusion/exclusion criteria to determine eligibility of products for comparison. Products collected from participants were included in the final analysis if they were collected 1 year prior to and 1 year after implementation of the May 2020 ban. A transition period of 1 month prior and after, including the month of May 2020, was applied to account for residual product availability. Products collected during this time were excluded.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of the average number of identified flavouring chemicals (panel A) and average concentration among eight flavouring chemicals (panel B) in vaping products collected preban and postban. ****P<0.0001. Error bars represent SEM.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of the frequency of eight flavouring chemicals identified (panel A) and average concentration of eight flavouring chemicals (panel B) in vaping products collected preban and postban. *P=0.011. Error bars represent SEM.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ambrose BK, Day HR, Rostron B, et al. . Flavored tobacco product use among US youth aged 12-17 years, 2013-2014. JAMA 2015;314:1871–3. 10.1001/jama.2015.13802 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen JC, Green K, Fryer C, et al. . Perceptions about e-cigarette flavors: a qualitative investigation of young adult cigarette smokers who use e-cigarettes. Addict Res Theory 2019;27:420–8. 10.1080/16066359.2018.1540693 - DOI
    1. Harrell MB, Weaver SR, Loukas A, et al. . Flavored e-cigarette use: characterizing youth, young adult, and adult users. Prev Med Rep 2017;5:33–40. 10.1016/j.pmedr.2016.11.001 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Morean ME, Butler ER, Bold KW, et al. . Preferring more e-cigarette flavors is associated with e-cigarette use frequency among adolescents but not adults. PLoS One 2018;13:e0189015. 10.1371/journal.pone.0189015 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gholap VV, Kosmider L, Golshahi L, et al. . Nicotine forms: why and how do they matter in nicotine delivery from electronic cigarettes? Expert Opin Drug Deliv 2020;17:1727–36. 10.1080/17425247.2020.1814736 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances