A little-known artificial sweetener that’s up to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar is now used in most popular flavored e-cigarettes — even though it is not listed on labels and is only FDA-approved for food, a new study found.
Neotame was detected in 57 of 73 flavored vaping products often marketed to kids and teens and had an average content nearly five times higher than in a mint candy, a study conducted by researchers from Yale School of Medicine and Duke University found.
Little is known about the health effects of inhaling the potent, no-calorie alternative, which was created by NutraSweet and is also known as Newtame, and current regulations do not limit its use, according to the June 2 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The researchers set out to prove, mainly to regulators and clinicians, how commonly the chemical, which is also up to 65 times sweeter than aspartame, is being used in newer products, they said.
All popular disposable e-cigs introduced after 2021 that haven’t yet received U.S. Food and Drug Administration marketing authorization — 27 devices across 11 different brands — contained neotame, according to the study.
Among them were vapes from brands like Breeze Smoke, Elf Bar and Vapetasia, which offer flavors like Strawberry Apple, Killer Kustard and Blue Razz Ice.
Products from three brands — Vuse and NJOY, which are FDA-approved, and JUUL, which is awaiting approval — that were introduced before 2021 do not contain it, the study found.
The substance was likely chosen for its heat stability compared to other sweeteners, but its behavior when heated and vaporized in e-cigarettes is unknown, the scientists wrote in their findings.
“There are two specific concerns about the finding: How does it affect the potential for addiction to the product, and what are the product’s adverse health effects when inhaled?” said Hanno Erythropel, the paper’s lead author.
“Eating versus inhaling something is very different,” Erythropel, a Yale researcher, added. “There are many examples in which chemicals are safe for eating but not for inhalation.”
Neotame is approved by the FDA for use in food, but not in vaping products, according to the researchers. When eaten in foods like cakes, soft drinks and chewing gum, neotame can seriously damage gut health, a study published last year in the medical journal Frontiers found.
“The respiratory and systemic health effects of neotame and its potential decomposition products during heating in an e-cigarette are unknown,” the scientists said.
Alarmingly, most of the “funky” flavors used in e-cigarettes have not been evaluated for use in products other than food, Erythropel added.
The team hopes its findings pave the wave for further studies on neotame toxicity and exposure once it is heated and inhaled, and how users rate the appeal of e-cigarettes that contain it.
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