Saturday, July 5, 2025 7/5/2025

The Role of Humectants and Flavor on Microbial Growth in Waterpipe Tobacco

Award Number: R21CA244305
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/16/2019
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2022

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

The Role of Humectants and Flavor on Microbial Growth in Waterpipe Tobacco - Project Summary/Abstract It is well known that higher proportions of youth who smoke cigars, e-cigs, and hookahs (waterpipes [WPs]) use flavored tobacco products over unflavored. WP tobacco is unique in that large amounts of sweet humidifying compounds (humectants) are added to provide the user with a sweet, smooth-tasting smoke. Aroma flavor compounds are also added. Some evidence suggests that tobacco flavor additives that are antimicrobial, such as menthol, impact microbiota in cigarettes by reducing bacterial populations while increasing bacterial species resistant to harsh environments. Current understanding is lacking in how additives like humectants and flavors alter microorganisms in WP tobacco. With WP smoking becoming more popular in the U.S. particularly among college students, users may be highly susceptible to the transfer of pathogens when sharing devices, but also to native microorganisms in WP tobacco that could pose significant adverse health effects if inhaled as bioaerosols. It is known that certain bacteria resistant to harsh conditions can survive high temperatures and potentially transfer to the smoke from cigarettes. WP tobacco temperatures are much lower compared to cigarettes, perhaps providing a more suitable environment for pathogenic microorganism to persist. Thus, it is important to characterize microbial species and the impact that humectants and flavors have on microbial growth in WP tobacco, to better understand what harmful microorganisms might be transferred from the tobacco to the WP smoker and elicit adverse respiratory health effects from toxic bioaerosol exposures. The proposed study seeks to fill this knowledge gap by assessing the role of humectants and flavor additives on microbial growth in WP tobacco by apply an innovative alternative toxicology approach. We will add humectants and a select flavor to a plain WP tobacco prepared several ways to isolate the effects of these additives on microbial growth and identify and quantify a broad view of microbial community composition using whole genome sequencing analysis. Shotgun proteomic analysis will also be performed to characterize proteins expressed by organisms colonizing tobacco to explain metabolic pathways involved in tobacco degradation/stability. Additionally, bacteria capable of converting nitrate to nitrite can react with tobacco alkaloids to form carcinogenic tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNAs). Therefore, we will assess the relationship between TSNA levels and microbes in WP tobacco. This research has important public health regulatory implications in that it will inform the Food and Drug Administration Center for Tobacco Products (FDA CTP) regarding the roles of sweeteners and flavors in newly deemed tobacco products, such as WP. Data from the proposed study can be used to inform whether these compounds influence toxic exposures and, if so, the FDA should ban or limit the use of sweeteners/flavors in WP tobacco. The microorganisms identified will form the foundation of future studies to characterize microbial content in a variety of WP tobacco products and in WP smoke inhaled by the user, providing further needed data for consideration in regulating WP tobacco.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2023	2020	BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE	505 KING AVE	COLUMBUS	OH	43201	FRANKLIN	USA	Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act Regulatory Research	000	2	11/2/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2023	2020	BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE	505 KING AVE	COLUMBUS	OH	43201	FRANKLIN	USA	Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act Regulatory Research	001	2	11/7/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2021	2020	BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE	505 KING AVE	COLUMBUS	OH	43201	FRANKLIN	USA	Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act Regulatory Research	000	2	3/11/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $85,515 )
2020	2020	BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE	505 KING AVE	COLUMBUS	OH	43201	FRANKLIN	USA	Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act Regulatory Research	000	2	8/25/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$85,515
														Subtotal = $85,515

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $253,721 )
2019	2019	BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE	505 KING AVENUE	COLUMBUS	OH	43201	FRANKLIN	USA	Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act Regulatory Research	000	1	9/16/2019	NEW	$253,721
														Subtotal = $253,721

Grand Total All Awards = $339,236

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

The Role of Humectants and Flavor on Microbial Growth in Waterpipe Tobacco

Award Number: R21CA244305

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/16/2019

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2022

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer