Do the habits and preferences of heated-tobacco-product users affect the emission characteristics of nicotine, PG, and VG?

In this study, the delivery of three substances (nicotine, propylene glycol (PG), and vegetable glycerin (VG)) in vapor generated by HTPs was evaluated based on the habits and preferences of users. To achieve this, the following five key characteristics were considered: operation method, device temperature, impact of the cartridge, flavor, and capsule break. These key features, influenced by the habits and preferences of users, were shown to affect emission profiles. This study was conducted in compliance with Health Canada Intense and used a smoking machine to capture vapor from HTPs. Each device has different operation methods that can be chosen by users. The cartridge had the most significant impact on substance delivery depending on the operation mechanism. Additionally, device temperature was correlated with concentrations of emitted substances. Tobacco sticks also showed significant impact on substance delivery. Notably, capsule break increased relative standard deviation (RSD) of PG from 2.17% to 10.22% and RSD of VG from 3.57% to 28.07% in Glo Hyper X2 fruit-flavored tobacco sticks. These findings suggest that delivery of substances is influenced by conditions of HTPs and the conditions are influenced by the habits, behaviors, and preferences of users.