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
Review
. 2024 Jun 10:22.
doi: 10.18332/tid/188197. eCollection 2024.

Challenges in current inhalable tobacco toxicity assessment models: A narrative review

Thivanka Muthumalage  1 , Alexandra Noel  2 , Yasmin Thanavala  3 , Aleksandra Alcheva  4   5 , Irfan Rahman  6
Affiliations
Review

Challenges in current inhalable tobacco toxicity assessment models: A narrative review

Thivanka Muthumalage et al. Tob Induc Dis. .

Abstract

Emerging tobacco products such as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and heated tobacco products (HTPs) have a dynamic landscape and are becoming widely popular as they claim to offer a low-risk alternative to conventional smoking. Most pre-clinical laboratories currently exploit in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo experimental models to assess toxicological outcomes as well as to develop risk-estimation models. While most laboratories have produced a wide range of cell culture and mouse model data utilizing current smoke/aerosol generators and standardized puffing profiles, much variation still exists between research studies, hindering the generation of usable data appropriate for the standardization of these tobacco products. In this review, we discuss current state-of-the-art in vitro and in vivo models and their challenges, as well as insights into risk estimation of novel products and recommendations for toxicological parameters for reporting, allowing comparability of the research studies between laboratories, resulting in usable data for regulation of these products before approval by regulatory authorities.

Keywords: electronic cigarettes; heated tobacco products; in vitro and in vivo; inhalation toxicology; vaping.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have each completed and submitted an ICMJE form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. The authors declare that they have no competing interests, financial or otherwise, related to the current work. T. Muthumalage reports that since the initial planning of the work, this study was supported by NIH (K99ES033835 and R00ES033835). A. Noel reports that since the initial planning of the work, this study was supported by NIH (NHLBI K01HL149053). Y. Thanavala reports that since the initial planning of the work, the Institute was supported from NIH (RO1HL142511) and NCI (P30CA016056), whilst in the past 36 months received payment or honoraria from NIH as a study section reviewer and reimbursement from grant for conference participation. A. Alcheva reports that since the initial planning of the work, payments were made to institution to support graduate studies, from NCI R01-CA179246 and Cancer Prevention Fund, Masonic Cancer Center. I. Rahman reports that since the initial planning of the work and in the past 36 months, this study was supported from NIH U54 (acknowledged).

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summarized in vitro and in vivo state-of-the-art methods
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Glasser AM, Collins L, Pearson JL, et al. . Overview of electronic nicotine delivery systems: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2017;52(2):e33-e66. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2016.10.036 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Miller CR, Xu SS, Smith DM, et al. . Assessing use of inhalable nicotine products within complex markets: the dilemma of heated tobacco products. Tob Control. 2023;33(1):103-109. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-057081 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Breland A, Soule E, Lopez A, Ramôa C, El-Hellani A, Eissenberg T. Electronic cigarettes: what are they and what do they do? Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2017;1394(1):5-30. doi:10.1111/nyas.12977 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Beauval N, Verrièle M, Garat A, et al. . Influence of puffing conditions on the carbonyl composition of e-cigarette aerosols. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2019;222(1):136-146. doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2018.08.015 - DOI - PubMed
    1. McAdam K, Davis P, Ashmore L, et al. . Influence of machine-based puffing parameters on aerosol and smoke emissions from next generation nicotine inhalation products. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2019;101:156-165. doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2018.11.006 - DOI - PubMed