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Method Development for the Collection and Instrumental Analysis of Harmful Compounds in Mainstream Hookah Smoke

Clutterbuck, Amberlie A

Abstract Details

2017, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Chemistry.
This thesis contains insight into the complexity of analyzing chemical constituents in hookah tobacco smoke. For the past four centuries, the indigenous people of the Middle East smoked tobacco and other substances from hookahs until the 19th and 20th century when its use migrated to Europe and North America. It gained traction due to the myth that it is a less harmful smoking alternative to cigarettes since the smoke is passed through water, supposedly filtering harmful substances and making it feel less irritating. Despite the FDA obtaining authority to regulate cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products by passing the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009, 30% to 48% of college-aged students report using the smoking method due to the vast number of flavors and ease of access. In the meantime, tobacco companies introduced smokers to the electronic cigarette to sidestep regulation and hookah companies quickly followed in pursuit. Then on May 5th, 2016 the FDA put forth new rules to regulate e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and hookah tobacco. They have their work cut out for them: hookah companies have developed numerous hookah products, including various flavored tobacco, steam stones, tea leaves, dried fruit, `ice drops (packets of hookah juice),’ wood and coconut charcoal, and electronic heads, bowls, charcoals, and hookah pens. This thesis highlights significant progress our group has made toward studying hookah tobacco products. The first chapter describes the three different sample preparation techniques (microwave-assisted extraction, solid phase microextraction, and solid phase extraction) that were used to quantitatively or semi-quantitatively determine three types of chemical components (toxic metals, volatile organic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) with three different types of instrumentation (ICP-MS, GC-MS, and HPLC-FLD), respectively. The second chapter outlines our study where the toxic metal content was determined in tobacco-free steam stones, hookah charcoal, and the smoke generated from them. We found that the smoke from Shisha steam stones and hookah charcoals carried varying levels of Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, and Pb. Our results established that the bulk of the toxic metals originate from the charcoal source used to vaporize the flavored coatings on the steam stones. Limiting our discussion to As and Cr, it was found that users of Mya or Shiazo stones would be exposed to statistically similar amounts of these metals, regardless of the two charcoal brands used. However, it was found that these levels could be significantly reduced by using an electronic charcoal source instead. The third chapter discusses our attempts at condensing hookah tobacco smoke and semi-quantitatively analyzing it for VOCs with SPME-GC-MS. The condensate was sampled with a variety of SPME fibers, including a 50/30 µm DVB/CAR/PDMS fiber, a 65 µm PDMS/DVB fiber, an 85 µm CAR/PDMS fiber, a 100 µm PDMS fiber, and an 85 µm Polyacrylate fiber. In the 40 experiments performed, 237 compounds were tentatively identified based on their mass spectral features. There were 62 compounds considered hazardous, 55 compounds known to be in tobacco products, and 94 flavor and fragrance agents. The hookah tobacco condensate contained more compounds than the steam stone condensate, while Coco Nara and e-charcoal emitted more volatiles than Fantasia. Correlations of signal intensities illustrated in PCA graphs suggested all five fibers worked well when used separately to identify VOC’s in CHS.
Julio Landero Figueroa, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Edward Merino, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
William C. Wetzel, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
William Heineman, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Peng Zhang, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
164 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Clutterbuck, A. A. (2017). Method Development for the Collection and Instrumental Analysis of Harmful Compounds in Mainstream Hookah Smoke [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491227953201259

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Clutterbuck, Amberlie. Method Development for the Collection and Instrumental Analysis of Harmful Compounds in Mainstream Hookah Smoke. 2017. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491227953201259.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Clutterbuck, Amberlie. "Method Development for the Collection and Instrumental Analysis of Harmful Compounds in Mainstream Hookah Smoke." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491227953201259

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)