A press release has been making the rounds on a survey of vapers and their knowledge of nicotine. The release is essentially a big ad for a nicotine company, but it contains some interesting nuggets. It’s particularly interesting because vapers were the subject of the survey, so it’s specific to what we know (or don’t know) about the stuff we’re inhaling. Here’s the full release for your perusal. You can also download the survey results if you’re curious.
New Nicotine Survey Finds Quality is Important, But Few Know Basic Facts
Alchem Survey is First to Test Nicotine Knowledge of E-Cigarette Users
Minneapolis, Minn. – Dec. 3, 2013 – While nearly 97 percent of e-cigarette users say the quality of nicotine they’re vaping is important to them and 80 percent would be willing to pay a premium for the highest quality, very few know basic facts about the origins of nicotine and how it’s produced.
These are some of the key findings of the first nicotine knowledge survey conducted by Alchem International, a world-class manufacturer of plant-based chemicals and owner of the NicSelectTM brand of vaping-gradeTM liquid nicotine. Produced in Alchem’s FDA-inspected facility in New Delhi, India, NicSelect exceeds U.S. Pharmacopeia standards for quality and purity.
“It’s surprising to find that while the quality of nicotine matters to most vapers, most have no idea where it’s coming from,” said Laurent Leduc, Alchem’s chief operating officer and head of U.S. operations. Leduc said that 80 percent of survey respondents said they would be willing to pay a premium for e-juices that use the highest quality of nicotine available.
Only 12 percent of survey respondents knew that some nicotine was synthetically produced. While NicSelect is extracted organically from tobacco plants, some liquid nicotine is extracted from the chemical nicotine sulfate. Only 9 percent of survey respondents knew that pure nicotine is being imported into the U.S. illegally. Currently, there are no U.S. based liquid nicotine manufacturers.
Another key survey finding was that only 7 percent knew that impurities in nicotine could cause cancer. While nicotine itself is not carcinogenic, the impurities that can result in manufacturing nicotine can be harmful, Leduc explained.
Producing liquid nicotine from tobacco plants since 1985, Alchem sells its pharma-grade liquid nicotine to pharmaceutical companies for nicotine patches and gums. Alchem is now marketing and selling its newly branded vaping-grade nicotine to leading e-cigarette and e-liquid manufacturers in the U.S., including Vermillion River Premium E-Juice and My Freedom Smokes.
Alchem conducted the study at two e-cigarette trade shows during September and October: 2013 Vapefest, held in Las Vegas on Sept. 20 and 21, and Vapetoberfest, held in Long Beach, Calif. on Oct. 18 and 19. The survey was completed by 162 participants, which included e-cigarette and e-juice manufacturers as well as e-cigarette enthusiasts.
“There are very basic questions that every e-cigarette user should ask,” Leduc said. “The most basic questions are: where’s your nicotine coming from and how is it produced? Nicotine should be derived naturally, imported legally and packaged safely to protect everyone who handles this dangerous liquid,” he said.
Every batch of NicSelect carries its own certificate of analysis and is packed into leak-proof, secure containers as soon as it’s produced. All bottles and packaging are accurately labeled with the manufacturer name, FDA registration number and product name.
The vast majority – 93 percent – of survey respondents said they would like the e-liquid supplier to declare the source of nicotine on the e-juice bottle, and 83 percent said they would like to see a testing report for the nicotine.
NicSelect is available in both full strength – 1,000 mg/ml or 100% nicotine – and will be available later this year as a blend – 100 mg/ml or 10% nicotine – with propylene glycol (PG) and/or vegetable glycerin (VG). NicSelect is stocked in the U.S. and Europe for faster delivery.
For more information on NicSelect, visit www.NicSelect.com, or contact Alchem in the U.S. at Laurent@alcheminternational.
Alchem International is a world-class, FDA-inspected manufacturer of plant-based chemicals for the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmetic industries. Alchem manufactures NicSelectTM, pure liquid nicotine that exceeds U.S. Pharmacopeia standards for purity and impurity levels. Alchem has sold pharma-grade liquid nicotine for nicotine patches and gums for many years, and is now selling NicSelectTM vaping-gradeTM nicotine to e-cigarette and e-juice manufacturers. For more information, visithttp://www.NicSelect.com.
