Low powered variable voltage E-Cigarette batteries under perform at higher power settings.

Objective: Electronic Cigarettes (EC) use continues to increase with many efforts underway to develop dose-response relationships for clinical and sub-clinical purposes. This study investigated the battery performance of several variable voltage (VV) ECs capable of varied voltage outputs.Materials and Methods: Six brands of VV EC batteries were tested for dial setting accuracy (voltage) and power supplied during simulated vaping. All measurements were conducted using a single atomizer with two different resistance coils at four voltage settings in a blocked randomized structure. Battery dial settings were accurate when disconnected from an atomizer.Results: When powering an atomizer during simulated vaping, all batteries supplied power linearly up to approximately 8.5 watts. Beyond 8.5 watts all batteries began to undersupply power, plateauing around 9-10 watts, depending on the specific battery.Discussion: This behavior was not consistent with battery internal resistance. Undersupply of power at higher device settings will result in lower-than-expected nicotine (or THC) delivery and potentially lower pyrolysis products such as aldehydes.Conclusion: Studies seeking to associate VV EC power with psychological, physiological or toxicological effects should measure the actual power supplied or else a negative bias is likely to be observed in trials above 8.5 watts.

E-cigarettes: voltage- and concentration-dependent loss in human lung adenocarcinoma viability.

E-cigarettes are used by millions of people despite the fact that the harmful effect of aerosol emitted from these products to the human organism is still not clear. In this paper, toxicity of vapor generated using different solutions and battery output voltage on A549 cells viability is presented. The obtained EC50 values for commercially available propylene glycol/glycerol solution 1:1 e-liquids based on 3.2 V (0.127%), 4.0 V (0.112%) and 4.8 V (0.038%) were about 1.5-4.5 times higher than in tobacco smoke (0.0086%). Furthermore, it was shown that the increase of battery output voltage decreased A549 cell viability. In addition, commercially available extracts were more cytotoxic than laboratory made extracts. Owing to the expansiveness of e-cigarettes, it is very important to estimate their impact on public health. Our results not only confirm less cytotoxicity of e-liquid aerosol than cigarette smoke, but also demonstrate that solutions used in e-liquids and, for the first time, battery output voltage have a significant impact on cytotoxicity of e-cigarette vapor. Thus, the results of this study are very important for the current and future legal regulations on e-cigarettes.