A Comparative Study of Non-Volatile Compounds Present in 3R4F Cigarettes and iQOS Heatsticks Utilizing GC-MS

It is now widely suggested that people who are dependent on nicotine should switch from ordinary tobacco smoking to alternative products, which at least reduce the overall harm from smoking. A number of alternatives are now popular, including electronic cigarettes and heatsticks. In this work comparative analysis of the smoke/aerosol emission from 3R4F standard cigarettes and iQOS heatsticks was undertaken. For this, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was applied, to measure the non-volatile compounds of smoke/aerosol emission from individual samples, with the specific aim to determine their content of nicotine and selected other main components. All measurement data were collected under the Health Canada Intense (HCI) puffing regime. The most relevant findings of the present investigation can be summarized as follows. First, the number of measured aerosol components in the iQOS samples, with respect to those of 3R4F samples, was significantly lower (notably 37 versus 12 components). Second, the analysis of the iQOS and 3R4F GC-MS chromatographic fingerprints indicated a non-nicotine global component reduction (number and areas excluding nicotine) of larger than 80% for the iQOS samples in comparison to 3R4F samples. Third, the nicotine content of the iQOS aerosol was less than half that contained in the 3R4F smoke. The results from the present investigation indicate that—except for nicotine—smokers are exposed to a largely reduced number and amount of non-volatile, non-nicotine components in the iQOS heatstick aerosol, in comparison to those in the 3R4F cigarette smoke.

Progress on global hepatitis elimination targets

In 2016,the World Health Assembly adopted a Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis,with targets set for the years 2020 and 2030 to achieve hepatitis elimination.The main target of hepatitis elimination strategy is to reduce the incidence of hepatitis B virus(HBV)and hepatitis C virus(HCV)by 90%and mortality by 65%in 2030.In last 5 years,the number of people receiving HCV treatment has increased from 1 million to 9.4 million;however,this number is far from the 2030 target of 40 million people receiving HCV treatment.HBV and HCV incidence rates are down from 1.4 million to 1.1 million annual deaths but this is far from the 2030 target of<0.5 million deaths.The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has severely affected the efforts in the fight against hepatitis.No major donor has committed to investing in the fight against hepatitis.Time is running out.There is a need to speed up efforts in the fight against hepatitis to achieve hepatitis elimination by 2030.

Health outcomes of electronic cigarettes

The usage of electronic cigarettes(e-cigarettes)sparked an outbreak of unidentified vaping-related lung disease in the US during late 2019.With e-cigarettes becoming more and more popular,smokers have more options other than conventional cigarettes.Under these circumstances,a comprehensive evaluation of the general safety of new tobacco and tobacco-related products,represented by e-cigarettes,to human health is necessary.In this review,we summarize the current research on potential negative impacts of e-cigarette exposure on human health.In particular,studies detailing the relationship between e-cigarettes and the digestive system are summarized,with mechanisms mainly including hepatic metabolic dysfunction,impaired gut barrier,and worsened outcomes of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD).Although believed to be safer than traditional cigarettes,e-cigarettes exert adverse effects on systemic health and induce the development of multiple diseases including asthma,cardiovascular disease,and IBD.Moreover,nicotine-containing e-cigarettes have a negative impact on the childhood development and increase the risk of arterial stiffness compared to the non-nicotine e-cigarettes.However,non-nicotine e-cigarette components have detrimental effects including promoting liver damage and metabolic disorders.