The maker of some of the world’s most popular tobacco and cigarette products has launched a nicotine-free vape amid criticism of the industry for marketing dangerous products on minors.
Reynolds American, the maker of Newport and Camel cigarettes and the now-banned Vuse electronic cigarettes, announced it will begin selling a nicotine-free product aimed at adults.
The vape, called Sensa, is set to go on sale in the US this week for $20 and comes in six flavors, including watermelon frost, passionfruit frost and berry fusion.
And while it may be less addictive because of a lack of nicotine, health complications, such as lung disease and damage to blood vessels, from vapes can still come from the ingredients they use and the vapor they produce.
Most e-cig vapors contain toxic chemicals, including propylene glycol and glycerol, which break down into the carcinogen formaldehyde when heated.
The vape, called Sensa, is set to go on sale in the US this week for $20 and comes in six flavors
With its new product, Reynolds American now joins other e-cigarettes makers in the nicotine-free vape market
With its new product, which the company likened to nonalcoholic beer or decaffeinated coffee, Reynolds American now joins the ranks of other e-cigarettes makers in the nicotine-free vape market, such as Elf Bar, Sofi vape and Geek Vape.
Sensa will have up to 5,000 seconds of puffs and a removable battery that can be recycled. Typically, nicotine-free vapes cost between $13 and $17.
When announcing its new product, Reynolds American said the brand’s purpose was to provide adults with a product for when they want to vape but don’t want to consume nicotine.
It also pledged to ‘establish the highest standards in the industry.’
The vaping industry has come under fire for its marketing practices, which public health experts say target young people with their colorful packaging and candy-like flavors.
But Reynolds said Sensa, intended only for adults 21 and older, will not sell flavors that appeal to minors, will use a locking feature to prevent unintended usage, only feature models 35 and older in marketing and advertise on age-restricted social media sites.
The devices, the company said, will be displayed in stores among restricted sections with traditional vapes and cigarettes.
The brand will also carry the warning: ‘Zero nicotine does not mean this product is safe.’
Shay Mustafa, senior vice president for business communications and sustainability at Reynolds, told The Wall Street Journal: ‘We don’t want our products in the hands of youth, period.
‘For us, it’s not gray. It’s very clear: We want to be responsible.’
But there are still concerns Sensa will be enticing to some, drawn in by the fruity flavors and seemingly safe ‘nicotine-free’ label. There are also concerns that some stores may still sell the product to people under 21 years old.
These vapes are not subject to oversight by the FDA, which only regulates e-cigarettes that contain nicotine – and recently the agency has been tasked with trying to stem a tide of illegal devices from China flooding the US market.
Companies looking to get the FDA’s stamp of approval must prove their products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes and their benefit in helping smokers quit tobacco outweighs the risk the products pose to underage Americans.
Reynolds said because Sensa does not contain nicotine, it will not seek FDA clearance for the product.
But despite the nicotine-free claims, the e-cigarette will still use a battery to heat up liquid in the device, producing vapor.
When the liquid is heated, toxic chemicals are formed and breathed in by users, whether or not the product contains nicotine.
These chemicals can include propylene glycol – used to make things like antifreeze and paint solvent – acrolein – an herbicide used to kill weeds – nickel, tin, lead, benzene – found in car exhaust – formaldehyde and diacetyl – a chemical that has been linked to the lung disease bronchiolitis, also called ‘popcorn lung’
Studies have linked these chemicals to a myriad of health issues, including collapsed lungs, lung disease, cardiovascular disease, asthma, COPD and cancer.
In a first study of its kind, researchers analyzed health data from 4.3million ex-smokers and found those who switched to vapes were twice as likely to die from lung cancer, compared to those who quit cold turkey.
Another study published in the journal Microvascular Research in January 2024 identified that nicotine-free vape fluid increases a specific protein in the lung, causing stress on the organs, inflammation and the breakdown of blood vessels.
Lead author of the study, Dr Havovi Chichger, associate professor of Biomedical Science at Anglia Ruskin University, said: ‘Nicotine-free vape fluid has been demonstrated to have the same chemical composition as nicotine-containing fluid except for the absence of nicotine.
‘As the market is not currently well-regulated, it has been difficult to judge which chemical could be the most damaging to vascular function.
‘Our findings indicate that nicotine-free vape fluid exposure causes similar pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory effects on human microvascular endothelial cells, and that ARF6 is a key regulator in vape-induced damage to blood vessels.’
The ingredients in Sensa have not been made public, but Reynolds said it would list them on its website soon.
Dr Gavin Nye, a lecturer in anatomy from the UK’s university of Chester, previously told MailOnline: ‘In the past, it’s always been strongly suggested that vaping is not carcinogenic, unlike smoking tobacco, but now the evidence seems to finally be coming to light that toxins in vapes may be linked to cancer.’
Substances from the vapor can also get into the blood and cause damage to blood vessels, potentially raising the risk of a whole host of conditions — from dementia to heart disease.
And a recent study in the UK found nicotine-free vapes can contain as much nicotine as a full-strength e-cig after examining more than 50 brands sold in the country.
