Abstract
Background E-liquid flavour restrictions may discourage electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) uptake among youth. However, possible unintended consequences may include reduced appeal and effectiveness of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation. Non-tobacco flavours appear to be important for smoking cessation, but how and why are currently unclear. Methods We conducted an experimental study in a UK sample of adult daily smokers using an independent groups design (N=84). Participants were randomised to use an e-cigarette with nicotine-containing fruit/ sweet-flavoured e-liquid (blackcurrant, strawberry, vanilla, caramel) or unflavoured e-liquid for 1 week. The primary outcomes were average, peak and cue-elicited cigarette craving (the latter was assessed using a cue exposure task). The secondary outcomes were smoking lapse occurrence, enjoyment of the e-cigarette, ease of transitioning from smoking to using an e-cigarette, intentions to continue using an e-cigarette, intentions and motivation to quit smoking, return to smoking, and continuation of e-cigarette use. Results E-liquid flavouring did not appear to have an effect on average cigarette craving (b 0.18, 95% CI −0.44 to 0.79, p=0.57), peak cigarette craving (b −0.12, 95% CI −0.59 to 0.35, p=0.62) or cue-elicited cigarette craving (b −0.21, 95% CI −3.86 to 3.43, p=0.91). We did not find evidence of a difference in secondary outcomes. Conclusions We did not find evidence to suggest that nicotine-containing fruit/sweet-flavoured and unflavoured e-liquids have different effects on cigarette cravings after 1 week of use. Further research is needed to establish if differences emerge over longer periods of exposure and extend to smoking cessation outcomes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | E3-E9 |
| Journal | Tobacco Control |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 1 e |
| Early online date | 17 Nov 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information: This work was supported by Public Health England (PHE) via an honorary contract awarded to ASA. There is no grant number for this research as it was commissioned by Public Health England via the honorary academic framework. The MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (MRC IEU) at the University of Bristol provided wider support to this research (MC_UU_00011/7).Open Access: This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Publisher Copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.
Citation: Dyer ML, Khouja JN, Jackson AR, et al Effects of electronic cigarette e-liquid flavouring on cigarette craving Tobacco Control 2023;32:e3-e9.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2021-056769
