E-Liquid Flavours Save Lives: Here’s How…

Over the years we’ve done several experiments with unusual vape flavours. Very often we’ve done this for a bit of fun, but sometimes the results have surprised us.

A good few years ago, for example, we went to a vape show with a small range of very unusual flavours.

One of them was barbecue sauce flavour and, as you’d expect, most people absolutely hated it. But one elderly man told us it was the first thing he’d tasted since having a stroke.

The same occurred with a Voop Juice range we created for April Fool’s Day. These e-liquids were deliberately designed to taste awful, and I found the Cheese and Onion flavour disgusting. But some people actually liked it.

The point is, there are several types of e-liquid and thousands of flavours on the market now. Some are unusual and appeal to a small audience, while others have gained huge popularity among thousands of vapers. The benefit of this is that, no matter what your taste preference is, there’ll be something out there that you’ll love.

And that’s important, because the more you enjoy vaping, and the further you move away from tobacco flavours, the less likely you are to return to smoking.

Contents

How flavours help smokers switch to vaping

Does the research back this up?

A 2013 survey of over 4000 vapers, led by Konstantinos Farsalinos, found that 48.5% of vapers felt that restricting e-liquid flavours would increase cravings for cigarettes, while 39.7% felt that fewer flavours would make it less likely for them to quit smoking.

Since then, non-tobacco flavours have become more important in initiation. In Konstantinos’ original survey, the majority of vapers started with tobacco flavours, but a later survey which looked at the flavour preferences of over 70,000 vapers found that non-tobacco flavours (in the US) were the predominant choice when starting vaping. The study concluded that banning flavours could lead to a decrease in people starting vaping and an increase in people switching back from vaping to smoking.

This is backed up by research by Russell et al, which found that menthol and tobacco flavours now rank in 5th and 6th place amongst adult vapers. In a press conference organised by the New Nicotine Alliance, Russell talked further about the results, saying:

Evidence from our own research suggests that a significantly higher proportion of smokers who prefer to vape non-tobacco flavors go on to completely quit smoking cigarettes within three months.

In other words, non-tobacco flavours lead to a higher success rate when switching completely from smoking to vaping. This has been backed up by a study by Lin Li et al that found:

Use of fruit and other sweet flavored e-liquids is positively related to smokers’ transition away from cigarettes.

Another smaller study by Pacek et al surveyed 240 young adults who dual use (both vape and smoke). In their survey, 17% of young vapers said they would smoke more if flavours were limited to tobacco and menthol.

The idea that specific flavours could be important is backed up by industry research by JUUL, which found that vapers who used Mint or Menthol flavours were 23% more likely to switch to vaping than those who used tobacco flavours.

Could flavours assist dual vapers?

Not everyone switches to vaping immediately. After all, your first puff on an electronic cigarette doesn’t mean your last puff on a tobacco cigarette.

One survey shows that 46% of dual vapers have completely switched to electronic cigarettes after a year but, for others, it can take much longer.

One Dutch study found that dual vapers were more likely to use tobacco, menthol or mint flavours. In contrast, people who only vaped were more likely to use fruit or sweet flavours. However, this was a relatively small study with only 61 exclusive vapers studied.

My personal experience is that a wide variety of flavours can help dual vapers retain interest. I’ve seen people who continue to smoke a few cigarettes a day experiment with a lot of different flavours. If flavours can help retain interest, then dual vapers will smoke less, hopefully not go back to 100% smoking and eventually switch to 100% vaping.

Perhaps, for some, it’s just a matter of finding that perfect e-liquid (and with thousands of flavours out there, that can take some time).

What impact do flavour bans have?

If flavours encourage people to switch to vaping, it stands to reason that banning them could have the opposite effect. New research is now backing this up.

One US study by Friedman et al which examined 376,963 18-29 year olds found that flavour bans led to a 3.6% decrease in daily vaping. However,, there was a 2.2% increase in daily smoking rates compared to states where there weren’t flavour bans.

Separate research by Friedman found that for every vape pod not sold because of vape bans lead to an additional 12 cigarettes sold, while Saffer et al and Cotter et al both found that flavour bans lead to people substituting cigarettes for vaping.

Finally, at the 2024 E-Cigarette Summit, Dr Jasmine Khouja shared an estimate of the impact of a vaping flavour ban:

This graphic only referred to adult vapers, but talks with younger people suggested that there could be similar unintended consequences:

Many reported they would smoke more or even start smoking because it seemed “disgusting,” making it easier for them to quit smoking than vaping. Others expressed excitement about stronger and cheaper illicit products becoming available, particularly from abroad. These responses highlight the complexity of unintended consequences and underscore the need for continued research.

Conclusion

There’s huge concern in the UK about children taking up vaping. If trends follow the USA, this should reverse, but obviously, regulators don’t want to rely on this.

The problem is that implementing a flavour ban could have some unintended consequences, which could include more people smoking, fewer people switching to vaping and a rise in illicit products that already make up a third of the market.

The challenge with a flavour ban lies in its unintended consequences, such as increased smoking rates, fewer vaping transitions, and a surge in illicit products, which already make up a third of the market.

To avoid these consequences, it’s important to make nuanced decisions on flavours that balance any appeal to young people against the need to avoid increased smoking rates.

Article sources

Buckell et al, Should Flavors be Banned in E-cigarettes? Evidence on Adult Smokers and Recent Quitters from a Discrete Choice Experiment, Sept 2017, The National Bureau of Economic Choice

Cotti, C. D et al (2024). The effect of e-cigarette flavor bans on tobacco use (Working Paper No. 32535). National Bureau of Economic Research. doi.org/10.3386/w32535

Duyff R. et al, Candy Consumption Patterns, Effects on Health, and Behavioral Strategies to Promote Moderation: Summary Report of a Roundtable Discussion, Jan 2015, Advances in Nutrition, Volume 6, Issue 1, Pages 139S–146S, doi.org/10.3945/an.114.007302

Farsalinos K. et al, Impact of Flavour Variability on Electronic Cigarette Use Experience: An Internet Survey, Dec 2013 Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2013, 10(12), 7272-7282; doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10127272

Farsalinos K. et al, Patterns of flavored e-cigarette use among adults vapers in the United States: an internet survey (Dropbox)

Friedman et al, Flavored E-Cigarette Sales Restrictions and Young Adult Tobacco Use. Flavored e-cigarette sales restrictions and young adult tobacco use. JAMA Health Forum, 5(12), e244594, doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.4594

Friedman, A. et al E-cigarette flavor restrictions’ effects on tobacco product sales (2024) (Working Paper No. 57).

Lee et al, How does the use of flavored nicotine vaping products relate to progression towards quitting smoking? Findings from the 2016 and 2018 ITC 4CV Surveys Feb 2021, Pubmed, DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntab033

Pacek et al, Young adult dual combusted cigarette and e-cigarette users’ anticipated responses to hypothetical e-cigarette market restrictions, July 2019, Journal Substance Use and Misuse, doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2019.1626435

Romijnders et al. “E-Liquid Flavor Preferences and Individual Factors Related to Vaping: A Survey among Dutch Never-Users, Smokers, Dual Users, and Exclusive Vapers.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, (2019) doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234661.

Russell et al, Changing patterns of first e-cigarette flavor used and current flavors used by 20,836 adult frequent e-cigarette users in the USA, 2018, Harm Reduction Journal,

Saffer, H., Ozdogan, S., Grossman, M., Dench, D. L., & Dave, D. M. (2024). Comprehensive e-cigarette flavor bans and tobacco use among youth and adults (Working Paper No. 32534). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w32534

Shiffman et al, The Impact of Flavor Descriptors on Nonsmoking Teens’ and Adult Smokers’ Interest in Electronic Cigarettes, PubMed, 2015 Oct;17(10):1255-62. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntu333. Epub 2015 Jan 7.

Juul labs presents new data on the role of flavors in switching from combustible cigarettes, June 2019, Juul data insights