Liking of e-liquid odors

Whereas smoking burns tobacco, the use of an e-cigarette (vaping) only heats e-liquids. Therefore, an e-cigarette is considered a potentially less harmful alternative for smoking. E-liquids consist of a base liquid with flavorings and may contain nicotine. E-liquids are available in a high variety of flavors, which increase sensory appeal. As e-cigarettes are not safe, governments aim to prevent youth and non-smokers from initiating e-cigarette use. In order to regulate flavors in a way that they are attractive to (adult) tobacco smokers but not attractive to youth non-smokers, sensory research on the liking of different e-liquid flavors among different consumer groups is needed. Therefore, this study aims to investigate differences in hedonic assessment of different e-liquid odors between adult smokers, young adult non-smokers, and youth non-smokers by smelling (i.e., not vaping nor inhaling).

We expect differences in hedonic assessment of different e-liquid odors between the three groups, in a way that lkiking ratings for sweet e-liquid odors may be higher among non-smoking youth and young adults than smoking adults, and for non-sweet e-liquid odors vice versa.

Participants will fill out an online questionnaire of approximately 15 minutes to determine eligibility. Participants will assess the odors during 2 test sessions of both 1 hour. Data will be collected using EyeQuestion software. Liking will be assessed using a 9-point labeled hedonic scale; the other attributes will be assessed using a continuous 100-unit visual analogue scale.

Participants will smell 30 e-liquids (approximately 10 drops dissolved in 1 mL of demi water) with different flavors.