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Humectants in Tobacco Products
Humectants are used in the manufacturing of some tobacco products, such as cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and self-rolled tobacco. They are used to control and maintain the moisture content of the cut tobacco filler and add flavor. Humectants are vital to the creation of cigarettes. In an examination of waterpipe smoking, researchers worked to identify substances such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein in the smoke of the smoke of the waterpipe, discovering that the value of formaldehyde detected in one smoking session was five times higher than that of a regular cigarette. This data demonstrated that increasing amounts of humectants in the unburned tobacco lowered the temperature in the waterpipe head during smoking, so that considerable amounts of toxic substance was present. Further, e-cigarettes produce aerosol by heating a humectant containing nicotine without burning tobacco. Those “vaping” then inhale the aerosol and receive nicotine.

The main health concern regarding e-cigarettes is that their production is currently not regulated, and there is immense uncertainty of quality control during manufacturing. Self-rolled tobacco contains more humectants, which are added to tobacco to make them taste better and keep from drying out. As the humectants burn, they unleash chemicals such as acreolein. Humectants are found in most cigarettes and are considered one of the most dangerous chemicals found in tobacco.

However, there have been conflicting claims about the degree to which these products warrant a health concern. In a literary study of e-cigarette health risks, 388 different symptoms were reported, mouth and throat concerns generating more negative symptoms than any other group. At this time, though, there are not enough studies or sufficient evidence to suggest that products, particularly the contaminants of the aerosol in e-cigarettes, produce health risks at a concerning level. More research is currently being conducted to find the true dangers of the use of humectants in cigarettes.