New York, Jan 31 (IANS): Users of cherry-flavoured e-cigarettes may be exposed to higher levels of potentially harmful respiratory chemical, reveals a new study.

According to researchers, high levels of the respiratory irritant benzaldehyde were detected in the vapour from most of the flavoured nicotine products, with the highest concentrations in vapour from cherry-flavoured products.

This research was focused on a single toxicant and should be interpreted as a first step in understanding the potential health effects from flavoured e-cigarettes, said the lead research Maciej Goniewicz from Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) in the US.

Benzaldehyde is a compound used in many foods and cosmetic products.

For the study published online in the peer-reviewed journal Thorax, the scientist measured benzaldehyde levels for 145 different flavoured nicotine products using an automatic smoking simulator and calculated daily exposure to users from 163 e-cigarette puffs.

The concentrations of the chemical Benzaldehyde were 43 times higher in cherry-flavoured products than in other flavours, the study found.

"For e-cigarette users, it's important that they pay attention to how the products are affecting them. If they notice irritation, maybe a cough or sore throat, when they use e-cigarettes, they might want to consider switching to a different flavouring. And it's also important to keep these findings in perspective," Goniewicz stated.

"It will be important to follow this work up with studies that assess the long-term effects and chronic toxicity of e-cigarette flavourings in humans," Goniewicz added.