Yingst Jessica M, Veldheer Susan, Hammett Erin, Hrabovsky Shari, Foulds Jonathan
Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2017 Nov 1;19(11):1381-1385. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntw383.
Along with the growth in popularity of electronic cigarette devices (e-cigs), the variety of e-cig liquids (e-liquid) available to users has also grown. Although some studies have published data about the use of flavored e-liquid, there is no standardized way to group flavors, making it difficult to interpret the data and replicate results across studies. The current study describes a method to classify user-reported e-liquid flavors and presents the resulting proportion of users in each flavor group in a large online survey of e-cig users.
Three thousand seven hundred sixteen participants completed an online survey about their e-cig use and responded to the following open-ended question regarding their use of e-liquid, "What is your favorite flavor and what brand of flavored liquid do you prefer?" Researchers used a 3 step method to determine the flavor attributes present in the e-liquids reported using an online search engine. Once all flavor attributes were identified, researchers used the constant comparative method to group the flavor attributes and delineate how to classify flavors with mixed components (eg, cinnamon Red Hots as a candy not a spice).
The resulting classification scheme and proportions of e-liquids in each category were as follows: Tobacco (23.7%), Menthol/mint (14.8%), Fruit (20.3%), Dessert/sweets (20.7%), Alcohol (2.8%), Nuts/spices (2.0%), Candy (2.1%), Coffee/tea (4.3%), Beverage (3.1%), Unflavored (0.4%), and Don't Know/Other (5.8%).
To better understand the use of flavored e-liquids, standardized methods to classify the flavors could facilitate data interpretation and comparison across studies. This study proposes a method for classifying the characterizing flavors in e-liquids used most commonly by experienced e-cig users.
Current studies on the use of flavored e-liquid have used unclear methods to collect and report information on the use of flavors. This study adds a proposed method for classifying the flavors in the e-liquids used most commonly by experienced e-cig users. With a clear and explicit method for classifying self-reported flavors, future study results may be more easily compared.
随着电子烟设备（电子烟）的普及，可供用户使用的电子烟液（电子烟油）种类也在增加。尽管一些研究已经公布了有关调味电子烟油使用的数据，但尚无标准化的方法对口味进行分类，这使得难以解释数据并在各项研究中复制结果。本研究描述了一种对用户报告的电子烟油口味进行分类的方法，并在一项针对电子烟用户的大型在线调查中展示了每个口味组中用户的比例。
3716名参与者完成了一项关于他们使用电子烟的在线调查，并回答了以下关于电子烟油使用的开放式问题：“你最喜欢的口味是什么，你更喜欢哪个品牌的调味油？”研究人员采用三步法，通过在线搜索引擎确定所报告的电子烟油中存在的口味属性。一旦确定了所有口味属性，研究人员就使用持续比较法对口味属性进行分组，并描述如何对混合成分的口味进行分类（例如，将肉桂红热糖果归类为糖果而非香料）。
最终的分类方案以及各类别中电子烟油的比例如下：烟草味（23.7%）、薄荷醇/薄荷味（14.8%）、水果味（20.3%）、甜点/甜味（20.7%）、酒精味（2.8%）、坚果/香料味（2.0%）、糖果味（2.1%）、咖啡/茶味（4.3%）、饮料味（3.1%）、无味（0.4%）以及不知道/其他（5.8%）。
为了更好地了解调味电子烟油的使用情况，标准化的口味分类方法有助于数据解释和跨研究比较。本研究提出了一种对有经验的电子烟用户最常用的电子烟油中的特征口味进行分类的方法。
目前关于调味电子烟油使用的研究在收集和报告口味使用信息方面方法不明确。本研究增加了一种对有经验的电子烟用户最常用的电子烟油中的口味进行分类的方法。有了明确且清晰的自我报告口味分类方法，未来的研究结果可能更容易比较。
