To be effective in helping smokers get off cigarettes, e-cigarettes
need to deliver enough nicotine to replace what smokers were getting
from tobacco, but also need to deliver it consistently at different use
sessions. From later this year e-cigarettes sold in Europe will have to
be tested to ensure that they deliver nicotine consistently, but no
specific protocol has been proposed yet.
A new study published in the scientific journal Addiction
evaluated a new method for measuring nicotine delivery from
e-cigarettes. Researchers found that 'first-generation' e-cigarettes,
which use 'cartomizers', delivered nicotine less consistently than
later-generation e-cigarettes, which use 'atomizers' that vaporize
e-liquid contained in a refillable tank. The consistency of nicotine
delivery from the atomizers was similar to pharmaceutical nicotine
inhalers and tobacco cigarettes and within the acceptable limits for
medicinal nebulizers.
