• Posted June 3, 2025

Study Finds Powerful Sweetener in Vapes Marketed to Teens

TUESDAY, June 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A new study has found a super-sweet chemical in illegal flavored e-cigarettes that may make them more appealing to kids and teens.

The sweetener, called neotame, is up to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar and is usually used in products like ice cream or lip gloss, STAT News reported. 

But now, researchers say it’s showing up in popular disposable vapes.

The study, published June 2 in JAMA, tested 11 brands of flavored vapes sold in the U.S. — including Elf Bar, Breeze and Mr. Fog — and found neotame in all of them, even in products labeled as “zero nicotine.”

These products are illegal, but they’re still sold in gas stations, stores and online.

Researchers did not find neotame in the four e-cigarettes authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), nor in Juul, which awaits FDA approval, STAT News said in a report.

Experts say neotame could be a big reason why teens are drawn to these flavored vapes.

“We think that the presence of neotame is really a determining factor in the attractiveness and preference for these products,” said study author Sven Jordt, a professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C.

That’s especially true for children and teens, who crave sweet tastes much more than adults, Jordt added.

The Truth Initiative, an anti-tobacco nonprofit, says flavored vapes now make up 86% of e-cigarette retail sales in the U.S. 

Most are imported from China, where flavored vapes were banned in 2022, prompting companies to ship them abroad instead.

Right now, the FDA has authorized 34 e-cigarettes, all in tobacco or menthol flavors. These make up just 14% of retail sales.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently backed the FDA’s decision not to authorize flavored vapes, citing their appeal to young people.

A 2024 federal survey found that 5.9% of U.S. middle- and high-school students use e-cigarettes. 

Among those who vape, flavored disposable vapes are the most popular.

Public health experts say this is troubling because nicotine can harm developing brains and may lead to smoking or other addictions later in life.

Neotame is only FDA-approved for food, not for inhalation. Experts worry about what happens when these sweeteners are breathed into the lungs.

“We don’t know how safe they are if you inhale them into your lungs,” Jordt said.

In cigarettes, for example, added sugar can mask bitter flavors. But when burned, it also increases harmful chemicals in the smoke.

Sweeteners are also used in nicotine pouches and chewing tobacco. Some experts say companies use this to bypass rules about flavored products — even when the product still has a distinct taste.

The law does not say how “sweetness” should be regulated, STAT News added.

Some vape brands are now using nicotine analogs — chemicals similar to nicotine but with a different formula. That makes it unclear whether the FDA has the power to regulate them.

In the study, these analog products contained zero nicotine, but still had some neotame.

Brands like Spree Bar may be using this strategy to avoid FDA rules, however.

In May, the FDA announced it had seized $34 million worth of illegal vapes in Chicago.

“I personally have observed kids from good families who have become addicted to vaping,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said.

“Products imported from China may have risks we have yet to understand as a medical profession," Makary added.

Still, budget cuts and closure of the CDC's Office of Smoking and Health may limit how much the FDA and CDC can do.

“While the research highlights important questions from a toxicological and abuse liability standpoint, the sheer size of the illicit e-cigarette market needs addressing,” Cristine Delnevo, director of the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies in New Jersey, told STAT News via email.

She added the FDA must enforce the rules and authorize only those products that meet safety standards.

More information

ScienceDirect.com has more on neotame.

SOURCE: STAT News, June 2, 2025