Comparison of electronic cigarette chemical composition across Australia

Caitlin Jenkins; Jody Morgan; Celine Kelso

doi:10.1071/CH25027

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Comparison of electronic cigarette chemical composition across Australia

Caitlin Jenkins

^A ^B , Jody Morgan

^A ^B ^# and Celine Kelso ^A ^B ^# ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Molecular Horizons, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.

^B School of Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: celine@uow.edu.au

^# These authors contributed equally to this work.

Handling Editor: George Koutsantonis

Australian Journal of Chemistry 78, CH25027 https://doi.org/10.1071/CH25027

Submitted: 28 February 2025 Accepted: 11 August 2025 Published online: 5 September 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) regulation in Australia varies between states and territories. E-cigarette products (N = 47) were purchased from six Australian states and territories across a range of different retailer types, and the chemical composition of their e-liquids was determined using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Nicotine was detected in e-cigarette products from all of the analysed states and territories, and all retailer types, with an average concentration of 42.7 mg mL^–1 in 35 out of 47 samples. Samples generally contained no nicotine labelling or, in the case of two samples, inaccurate labelling. The cytotoxic flavouring chemical cinnamaldehyde was detected in two samples, which were purchased in two different states. Chemicals of unknown toxicity, WS-23 and acetals, were detected in the majority of samples.

Keywords: acetals, chemical composition, electronic cigarette, flavours, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, nicotine, quantification, regulation, synthetic coolants.

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