Tobacco flavors are often created by using multiple flavors
brought together to taste like tobacco, but not everyone has the same taste.
By Timothy S. Donahue
Flavoring is a complex science. Imagine going out into a
field to pick strawberries. If you pick one that is a little green, it’s going
to taste tart. If you pick a bright red berry that is a little squishy, it’s
going to taste very sweet. Both taste like a strawberry but not the same
strawberry. Flavors can also taste different to different people at different
times.
The recent U.S. ban on all flavors except tobacco and
menthol in pod-style devices has everyone talking about taste. To the layman,
an apple should taste like an apple. According to Ray Keller, CEO of GoodCat Laboratories,
“Apples don’t necessarily taste the same to everyone.” GoodCat is a major
Florida-based e-liquid manufacturer, and in 2019, GoodCat produced nearly 1,000
metric tons of finished product.
Keller goes on to say that an e-liquid is basically three
elements: a base mix (usually propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerin), a
flavoring and nicotine. The flavor additive can also consist of many different
flavor compounds in order to create a unique or desired flavor. “Tobacco
flavors, for example, can consist of vanilla, cocoa, coffee, light fruits,
sweet fruits and even oak moss,” explains Keller. He says that designing
flavors is all about finding an endpoint that causes the consumer to think a
flavor tastes like something specific.
“For example, a client will come to us with an idea and thinks
a sweet strawberry flavor will do very well in a particular market. So, we’ll
design our flavor blends to produce that sweet strawberry flavor,” says Keller.
“That can be easily done by our flavorist. They will pick and choose different
flavoring compounds to create the flavor we want. Some of the sweetness that we
use may come from one of our flavor concentrates we call Five Fruit. It can
taste like five different fruits (think pears and apples). We may add some Five
Fruit to a strawberry flavor that is more earthy tasting to give the new liquid
a sweet, fresh-picked strawberry taste.”
Vapor Voice sat down with Keller to discuss flavorings,
regulation and recent developments in the vapor industry, including raising the
age to purchase tobacco products and the flavor ban instituted by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA). He goes on to explain that these are hot-button
issues that are coming up now because we are in an election cycle. “Vapor has
been around for more than a decade, and all of a sudden, flavor is a big
concern,” remarked Keller. “Just think how much work could get done if
everybody worked together and supported this life-saving industry.”
Vapor Voice: Is there any interesting detail we
should know about creating a flavor profile?
Keller: Yes, and we tell our clients this. When they come to
sit down with our flavorist, we encourage them to reserve a couple of days in a
row and at the same time of day. Perception of taste in the afternoon is not
the same perception of taste in the morning. An example: If you just drank some
coffee, it will affect the way you taste. You eat celery, that affects things.
So, yeah, people are not always going to be tasting something the same way all
the time.
Tobacco flavors can be complicated; what goes into
producing a tobacco flavor?
The flavors that are used to produce an e-liquid that tastes
like tobacco are not necessarily tobacco flavors. The coils and temperatures of
different devices change what compounds are vaporized and in which order; this
causes a different taste from one device to another using the same fluid. We
have one tobacco flavor that is just three flavoring compounds. We have another
that is 31 compounds. You also can’t really use pure tobacco extracts from
tobacco leaf because that defeats the purpose of why you are using an
e-cigarette—we were finding small amounts of unwanted chemicals in leaf-based
flavor extracts.
How would the FDA regulate a flavor? Who is the judge on
what tobacco tastes like?
This is very subjective. Somebody is going to say, “no, not
tobacco.” They are either going to base it on a specified list of ingredients
and/or percentages, or they are going to base it on what they taste when they
sample it. So, it’s going to be a subjective thing. Would the FDA even taste a
product to decide if it tastes like tobacco? I doubt that.
Let’s be honest. I don’t really know how they would do it
unless they look at a list of ingredients and percentages. And OK, you’ve got
vanilla in there at 3 percent. Well, maybe if you had vanilla at 10 percent,
they may say that’s not tobacco. You need guidance, right? You need some kind
of parameter. I want to know who’s going to write that guidance, and when do we
get it?
That begs the question: What do you think a tobacco
flavor should taste like?
There are so many different tobaccos. Every tobacco has a
very distinctive flavor to it. Then there are the Virginia, Connecticut,
Oriental [and] burley … tobaccos [that are] grown in different soils and
climates [and] taste different too. For example, tobacco grown in Cuba tastes
different from tobacco grown in Canada (yes, they grow tobacco in Canada). These
all have their own flavors, and then they are modified with casings, and every
brand could have its own special blend. So, there could be hundreds, if not
thousands, of different tobacco flavors that have just slight differences in
flavor.
Do you see that happening in the e-liquid market post-May
12?
I see everybody keeping their own tobacco flavors that they are
running through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) required by
the FDA for any product on the market after May 12, 2020. I guess that really
matters because … it’s got flavoring and glycerin and nicotine. That’s all it’s
got. Regulators will look at flavoring combinations, and somebody’s got to say,
“this tastes like this.” I don’t know who is supposed to make that call. Again,
who at the FDA is going to say what tastes like what?
Let’s say one company’s formulation doesn’t fall under this
new definition of what a tobacco flavor is supposed to be. It certainly has
been sold as tobacco, it tastes like tobacco, but it doesn’t meet this
hypothetical standard. I just see a very bumpy road coming up here. These
definitions must be made, and they have to be made with some reasonable method
to make them. And then there are going to be those that don’t make the cut and
there are going to be lawsuits.
Fair point. So, who should decide what is and isn’t a
tobacco flavor?
To answer that, let’s remember the story about this old
senator when he was asked about pornography. “Here’s a picture of a naked woman
and here’s a picture of a woman in lingerie. At what point does this become
pornography?” [someone asked]. He answered, “Well, I can’t really answer that
question directly, but I know it when I see it.” So, that is probably what is
going to happen with flavors.
What do you think might be an unintended consequence of
the flavor ban?
It’s entirely possible that the flavor ban will force some
to use the tobacco-flavored fluids and in effect cause them to develop the
acquired taste that is tobacco. In short, banning flavors will teach some teens
to like tobacco, moving them one step closer to combustibles. Whereas, if
someone was vaping a fruit flavor, like watermelon or berry, chances are they would
think combustibles smell really bad and wouldn’t get near them.
What are your thoughts on limiting the amount of nicotine
in e-liquids, much like the U.K. has done?
I’m going to tell you, buddy; I would be fine with lowering
nicotine levels. I think a lot of youth vaping is a function of the buzz you
feel when you vape a 50 mg blend. One hit, you get a buzz, and little to no
vapor is exhaled, making it fairly stealthy. Now, limit the nicotine level to
20 mg and you will need a few puffs to get a buzz, increasing the chance you
may be caught due to the exhaled vapor hanging in the air.
Do you think Tobacco 21 was the right way to curb the
recent uptick in youth use?
Listen, I get it, it’s a complicated situation. However,
someone at 18 is old enough to put a rifle in his hand. Well, if that same
18-year-old wants to vape … why can’t he make that decision? He can vote. He
can move to another country. Now with 16-year-olds, no guns for you, no voting
and you shouldn’t be vaping.
I don’t know, man. I’m a veteran myself. If you’re going to
ask a man to lay his life down, then you shouldn’t be trying to raise him like
he’s your child. You should leave him alone. You shouldn’t nitpick. Yes, drugs
like heroin should be illegal, but nicotine is not heroin, no matter how much
the anti-vapor zealots of the world want to tell us it is.
Does the flavor ban have any type of impact on GoodCat
Laboratories’ business?
We have put ourselves in a position where we are safe. We
don’t have to worry about market fluctuations. We’ve got large clients, global
clients that are very consistent with their orders. And even with the flavor
ban here in the U.S., there’s still a big world out there that believes flavors
are okay.
Is there anything final you want to say?
Yes. I just wanted to say that I think there is enough
common sense within these decision-makers, regulators and government officials.
I believe they see there is a benefit to e-cigarettes—that they’re better than
lighting up a combustible cigarette. I think there’s a little common sense
going on there, so I don’t think they want to get rid of them all. The vapor
industry is going to be here for a very long time.
