A brand new research led by researchers on the Marshall College Joan C. Edwards Faculty of Medication reveals that taste components generally utilized in e-cigarettes could enhance the probability of vaping conduct in adolescents—even within the absence of nicotine.
Printed earlier this month within the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the preclinical research discovered that sure widespread flavorings, together with vanilla and cherry, can drive reinforcement-related behaviors just like these related to nicotine publicity, significantly in adolescents.
Researchers examined the results of flavored vapor—together with combos with and with out nicotine—on female and male adolescent mice. The research employed the e-Vape self-administration (EVSA) assay, a novel behavioral mannequin that permits mice to voluntarily inhale flavored aerosols. Mice uncovered to vanillin or benzaldehyde demonstrated considerably extra energetic responses in comparison with controls, regardless of the absence of nicotine.
4 flavor-nicotine combos confirmed elevated reinforcement-related behaviors: nicotine with menthol, cherry or vanilla, in addition to vanilla taste alone. Even within the absence of nicotine, vanilla-flavored vapor alone was adequate to set off conduct indicative of reward-seeking, whereas cherry taste alone was not.
“These findings are important as a result of they display that some digital nicotine supply techniques (ENDS) flavors can modulate the mind’s dopamine system—particularly within the nucleus accumbens, a key reward middle—even with out nicotine current,” stated lead investigator Brandon J. Henderson, Ph.D., affiliate professor of biomedical sciences on the Joan C. Edwards Faculty of Medication.
“This raises necessary questions in regards to the potential for addiction-like behaviors in adolescents who use flavored vape merchandise marketed as nicotine-free.”
The analysis additional explored how these taste chemical substances work together on the molecular stage, displaying that inexperienced apple and vanilla compounds can have an effect on nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) perform—proteins recognized to play a central position in nicotine dependancy.
These findings add to a rising physique of analysis displaying that flavorings seem to actively alter the mind’s response to nicotine in ways in which might enhance dependence—particularly amongst youth, Henderson stated.
Along with Henderson, co-authors on the research embrace Marshall College medical college students Dami Adeshina, Gabrielle Hammers, Sean Hill, Sydney McSweeney, Sabrina Swenson, and Sarah Maddox. The co-authors additionally embrace Marshall College Ph.D. college students Nathan Olszewski and Samuel Tetteh-Quarshie.
Extra info:
Sabrina M. Swenson et al, Influence of chemical flavorants on reinforcement-related conduct in an adolescent mouse mannequin of vaping self-administration., The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jpet.2025.103651
Quotation:
Common vape flavors discovered to spice up nicotine reward in adolescent mice (2025, July 18)
retrieved 19 July 2025
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