research Archives - You Quit Two Quit

Are you a woman, 18-35 years old, living in North Carolina?

The UNC Center for Maternal & Infant Health would like to get your opinions about messages we have made about e-cigarettes and vaping. Your input will help us understand how women like you will react to the advertisements.

What is involved in this research study?

You will take part in a focus group or individual interview that will take no more than 90 minutes.
We will ask you what you know about e-cigarettes and what you think about the advertisements we show you.
Privately, we will ask you some questions about you such as your age, ethnicity, education, whether you are pregnant and/or have kids, and whether you have ever used tobacco products.
At the end of the focus group or interview, you will receive a $50 gift card.
We will assign you a study ID number that will be used instead of your name to keep your responses confidential.

NOW SCHEDULING Online & In-Person Meeting Times:

Thursday, March 21^st – 12-1:30 pm
Thursday, March 28^th– 12-1:30 pm
Tuesday, April 2^nd – 7-8:30 pm

Additional times can be arranged by request. We are happy to travel to groups/organizations for the 90-min session as well.

Interested in Participating? Please Contact: Jaimie Lea, MPH, IBCLC, UNC Center for Maternal and Infant Health

Call Jaimie with questions: (919) 843-7863

The primary investigator for this study is Erin K. McClain, MA, MPH, Assistant Director, UNC Center for Maternal & Infant Health, Chapel Hill, NC (Phone: 919-808-0989, erin_mcclain@unc.edu).

A new study by UNC School of Medicine researchers shows that e-liquids for e-cigarettes and other “vaping” products can be toxic to human cells.

E-liquids usually contain nicotine and flavorings in a base liquid of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin. The researchers tested how e-liquids affect growth of human cells in a lab. The more the growth of cells is reduced, the more toxic the e-liquid is.

Many of the ingredients found in e-liquids like propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin are considered safe to be eaten, but the effects of these ingredients on lung cells when they are inhaled may not be safe. In this study, even cells exposed to small doses of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin (without other ingredients like nicotine and flavorings) showed significantly reduced growth.

The researchers found that some e-liquids are more toxic than just the base ingredients (propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin) and nicotine alone. They analyzed 148 e-liquids to find what specific ingredients were in each one and tested each e-liquid’s effect on cell growth. Overall, they found that each e-liquid could have very different ingredients from the next. They also found that the more ingredients an e-liquid had, the more toxic it was.

Two e-liquid ingredients seemed to be the most toxic: vanillin, which gives e-liquids a vanilla flavor, and cinnamaldehyde, which gives them a cinnamon flavor. These flavoring ingredients are used in many e-liquids. E-liquids with more vanillin and cinnamaldehyde were more toxic to cells.

Because e-cigarettes and “vaping” products are relatively new, there has not yet been regulation on e-liquids. But the FDA is beginning to regulate e-liquid ingredients. The findings from this study will likely help the FDA as they start regulating e-liquids. The tests used to determine how toxic e-liquids are could be used to test the more than 7,700 different e-liquids that are on the market now.

E-cigarette use is becoming more and more popular, particularly among youth and young adults, and it is important to understand how using these products can affect our bodies.

The researchers have set up a database of e-liquid ingredients and toxicity data that anyone can access. The results from their tests can be found at www.eliquidinfo.org.

More information on the study can be found here.

Full text journal article can be found here.