Sensory Attributes of E-cigarette Flavours and Nicotine as Mediators of Interproduct Differences in
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Leventhal
A, Cho J, Barrington-Trimis J, et al
Sensory Attributes of
E-cigarette Flavours and Nicotine as Mediators of Interproduct Differences in
Appeal among Young Adults.
Tobacco Control 2020;29:679-686.
Objective
To estimate the extent to which specific sensory attributes, for example,
smoothness, mediate differences in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) appeal
between products in non-tobacco versus tobacco flavours and varying nicotine
content in young adults.
Method E-cigarette
users (n=100; aged 18–34 years) administered standardised two-puff e-cigarette
doses of different products varying in a flavour (fruit, menthol, tobacco) ×
nicotine (nicotine-containing (6 mg/mL freebase), nicotine-free) within-subject
design. Participants rated sensory attributes (sweetness, bitterness,
smoothness and harshness) and appeal on 100-unit visual analogue scales after
administering each product. Sensory ratings were tested as simultaneous
mediators of flavour, nicotine and flavour × nicotine effects on appeal.
Results
Appeal preferences for fruit versus tobacco flavours were mediated by
sweetness-enhancing (βindirect=0.092), smoothness-enhancing (βindirect=0.045)
and bitterness-reducing (βindirect=0.072) effects of fruit flavours. Appeal
preferences for menthol versus tobacco flavours were mediated by menthol’s
smoothness-enhancing (βindirect=0.039) and bitterness-reducing
(βindirect=0.034) effects. Lower appeal of nicotine-containing versus
nicotine-free products was mediated by nicotine’s sweetness-reducing
(βindirect=–0.036), smoothness-reducing (βindirect=–0.156) and
bitterness-increasing (βindirect=0.045) effects. Flavour × nicotine interaction
effects on appeal were explained by menthol-related suppression of nicotine’s
bitterness-enhancing and sweetness-reducing mediation pathways and fruit-related
suppression of nicotine’s bitterness-enhancing mediation pathway. Harshness did
not mediate appeal after adjusting for other sensory attributes.
Conclusion
Bitterness and smoothness may be cross-cutting mediators of interproduct
variation in the effects of types of non-tobacco flavours and nicotine on
e-cigarette appeal in young adults. Sweetness may also mediate appeal-enhancing
effects of fruit and appeal-reducing effects of nicotine. Non-tobacco flavours
may suppress appeal-reducing effects of nicotine in e-cigarettes through
attenuation of nicotine’s aversive taste attributes.
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