BACKGROUND The global market share for cigarettes with flavor capsules has grown exponentially over the last decade, particularly in Latin America. When smoking, consumers crush a liquid capsule in the filter that flavors the smoke. Little is known about the chemical constituents of the liquids in capsules or their potential health risks. METHODS Based on consumer data and availability in Mexico and Guatemala, 31 flavor capsule brands were purchased (19 and 12, respectively) in 2020. Since some cigarettes included multiple capsules in a stick (up to 2) or pack (up to 4), the final analytic sample included 50 capsules. We conducted qualitative and quantitative analysis using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS, Agilent Technologies, Inc.). RESULTS The qualitative analysis detected 296 compounds (range=9 to 67 per capsule), and all capsules contained menthol. Among the compounds detected in more than half the sample were limonene, menthone, benzaldehyde, eucalyptol and triacetin. Traces of nicotine were found in 22% of the capsules. In the quantitative analysis, menthol concentrations were 33 times greater than the next most common compound (limonene). Benzyl alcohol and vanillin were also found in high concentrations. Comparing same brand varieties across countries showed substantial variability in the concentration of menthol and other compounds. CONCLUSION Menthol is an omnipresent constituent in capsule cigarettes, perhaps because of its anesthetizing and reinforcing addictive properties. Other compounds found are toxic, potentially carcinogenic, and may enhance addictiveness. Variance in the presence and concentrations of such compounds highlights the importance of product standards to regulate capsule content. IMPLICATIONS This study evaluated the chemical content of capsule cigarettes from two Latin American countries that have two of the highest market shares for capsule cigarettes worldwide. Compared to other studies, our assessment included brand varieties from two countries to compare the differences in chemical content by country. Our results yield that menthol is found in all capsules, and that other chemicals found may prolong nicotine exposure and therefore reinforce the addictive properties of cigarettes.

中文翻译：

---

来自危地马拉和墨西哥的卷烟香精胶囊中的化学物质。

背景技术带有香料胶囊的香烟的全球市场份额在过去十年中呈指数级增长，特别是在拉丁美洲。吸烟时，消费者将过滤嘴中的液体胶囊压碎，从而给烟雾调味。人们对胶囊中液体的化学成分或其潜在的健康风险知之甚少。方法 根据墨西哥和危地马拉的消费者数据和供应情况，2020 年购买了 31 个风味胶囊品牌（分别为 19 和 12 个）。由于一些卷烟在一根烟条（最多 2 个）或一包烟盒（最多 4 个）中包含多个胶囊，最终分析样品包括 50 个胶囊。我们使用气相色谱质谱联用仪（GC-MS，Agilent Technologies, Inc.）进行定性和定量分析。结果 定性分析检测到 296 种化合物（范围=每粒胶囊 9 至 67 种），所有胶囊均含有薄荷醇。超过一半的样品中检测到的化合物包括柠檬烯、薄荷酮、苯甲醛、桉油精和三醋精。22% 的胶囊中发现了微量尼古丁。在定量分析中，薄荷醇浓度是第二常见化合物（柠檬烯）的 33 倍。还发现高浓度的苯甲醇和香草醛。比较不同国家的相同品牌品种发现薄荷醇和其他化合物的浓度存在很大差异。结论 薄荷醇是胶囊香烟中普遍存在的成分，可能是因为它具有麻醉作用和增强成瘾性。发现的其他化合物有毒、可能致癌，并且可能会增加成瘾性。此类化合物的存在和浓度的差异凸显了产品标准对调节胶囊含量的重要性。意义 这项研究评估了两个拉丁美洲国家的胶囊卷烟的化学含量，这两个国家是全球胶囊卷烟市场份额最高的两个国家。与其他研究相比，我们的评估包括来自两个国家的品牌品种，以比较不同国家化学成分含量的差异。我们的结果表明，所有胶囊中都含有薄荷醇，并且发现的其他化学物质可能会延长尼古丁暴露时间，从而增强香烟的成瘾性。