A database published by ANSES draws up the panorama of all the substances contained in the tobacco and vaping products sold in France.
What is behind the "mojito aromas", "red fruits" or "mint" of e-cigarette liquids? A database published Wednesday by ANSES paints the panorama of all the substances contained in tobacco and vaping products sold in France. "We are the first European agency that makes all of this information available," which must have been declared since 2016, welcomed Matthieu Schuller, director of risk assessment of the National Health Security Agency.
"Concretely, if I am a vaper or e-liquid seller and if I want to find out about a product, I will start by checking if it has been recorded with ANSES (...). I can then consult its majority ingredients as declared and I can finally look at if the ANSES has noted differences in the manufacturer's declaration for this product, "said the health agency. In fact, almost 4 % of vaping products sold on the French market (3.3 % to 4.2 % depending on the year) said at least one prohibited because carcinogenic ingredient, likely to promote genetic mutations (mutagen) or toxic to fertility or the development of the fetus (reprotoxic).
In tobacco products (cigarettes, rolling tobacco, cigars, heated tobacco, etc.) This proportion is between 0.4 % and 1.4 % depending on the year, and approximately 0.2 % include other prohibited ingredients (vitamins , caffeine, taurine…). "To a lesser extent, the agency has highlighted non-conformities relating to emissions above the regulatory threshold for certain cigarettes or too high a nicotine concentration in certain vaping products," added ANSES. This database, which will be updated "monthly", constitutes a "first step" before "a risk assessment" possibly linked to each of these substances, specifies Matthieu Schuller.
Heated and inhaled
Vaping liquids are generally composed of vegetable glycerin and propylene-glycol, which serve as dilution support, nicotine at different concentrations, and artificial aromas (up to 15 in some mixtures). There are also sometimes sugars, sweeteners, acids and plant extracts. If these substances are commonly used in other consumer products such as food or cosmetics, their effects when heated and inhaled are still poorly known.
Electronic cigarettes are often used as a tool for stopping smoking, whose harmful health effects have been known for a long time. Fears about vaping risks had notably been fueled by a severe pulmonary disease crisis that killed 60 people last year in the United States. The cause has since been identified: an added ingredient to cut cannabis e-liquids, vitamin E acetate. "In early 2021, we should have an idea of the priority substances to assess," said Matthieu Schuller.
A third of vapers assemble their liquid themselves
For this, the agency has already started to identify which molecules are the most problematic and launched studies with vapers to better know which products are the most consumed and how, and thus estimate which substances they are the most exposed. She will also carry out her own analyzes next year on a product sample, to check if the manufacturers' declarations correspond to the real composition.
A first survey carried out by BVA, also published on Wednesday, shows in particular that almost a third of the vapers assemble their liquid themselves, by purchasing separately flavored bases in large containers and nicotine "boosters", which comes back less dear that ready -to -use products. However, products that do not contain nicotine are not affected by the compulsory declaration, so there is "a question on the composition of these products", also observes Benoît Labarbe, head of the "tobacco" mission at ANSES.
A declaration process that must improve
The health agency also points out that the manufacturer's declaration process could be significantly improved. They are required to detail the composition of the products, but also the substances issued in the smoke or in the aerosol generated by the heating of the liquid, as well as their volumes of sales. No less than 67 % of this data were not transmitted for tobacco products, and 61 % for vaping.
ANSES also recommends that the European Commission establish a "validated list of substances", to avoid "inconsistencies" in certain declarations which mention the commercial denomination of the ingredients and not the chemical which composes them.
29/10/2020, by 20minutes.fr, https://www.20minutes.fr
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