Tobacco-free nicotine: Where do we stand today?

[Munk]

Nicotine is nicotine. If properly extracted and purified, there should be no distinguishable difference between nicotine derived from tobacco plants and nicotine derived from other sources (other nightshade plants, artificial synthesis, etc). But the fact remains, nicotine produced from tobacco is quite literally a "tobacco product", and along with that label are several drawbacks...even if those drawbacks are nonsensical at their core.

I think we all know what those drawback are, and so I have become interested in obtaining some of this tobacco free nicotine (TFN). The only company I know of that claims 100% tobacco free e-juice is NKTR by SQN. A little research suggests that Next Generation Labs is the source of NKTR's TFN (website here, mods remove link if not permitted). They claim "...it is the only 100% tobacco free nicotine not derived from tobacco leaf, stem, or waste dust" and "...is the purist, cleanest 100% tobacco free nicotine available". They also have an array of test results publicly available illustrating their products purity, including Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Carbon Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, and Gas Chromatogram.

Are there any other suppliers, or ideally e-juice makers, that use TFN? I have my doubts that Next Generation Labs will sell directly to individuals, and NKTR only has 4 flavors to pick from (and they only go up to 6mg/ml in strength). This would be a great choice for me for DIY if I could get my hands on it.

 

[Munk]

No interest in tobacco free nicotine, or tldr?

 

[zoiDman]

Very Interesting.

Regulation, Patents, Safety / Current Government Regulation

Regulatory authority by FDA does not currently extend to tobacco free nicotine as a tobacco product. FDA regulatory authority for drugs, devices and foods shouldn’t apply if product makes no therapeutic claims. FDA Center for Tobacco Products new deeming authority over e-cigs does not extend to tobacco free nicotine. Majority of state regulation is currently limited to tobacco-derived nicotine.

Next Generation Labs

 

[Munk]

Exactly, no regulations plus there are insurance/healthcare benefits to being able to honestly check the "no" box when asked if you use tobacco or tobacco products.

I got ahold of the CEO of Next Gen Labs, Vincent Schuman, and he had this to say about ordering their TFN:

"MOQ: 5 kg

Price per kg: $5000 which works out to $0.005 or 1/2 a penny per milligram.

Lead time: 6 weeks

We are allowing 1 kg purchases, cost $10,000"

Which firmly puts it out of the reach of most DIYers, regrettably. They don't offer samples but referred me to NKTR if I want to try the product. I wonder if NKRT would be willing to sell unflavored base in smaller quantities?

 

[Munk]

Just doing a little math, $10,000 for 1L of 1000mg/ml comes out to $250 for 1L of 25mg/ml (not including the cost of the VG or PG base). Compare this to Nude Nicotine, who charges $50 for 1L of 24mg/ml base with VG/PG...and I'm starting to see why the cost might be prohibitive to DIY.

This basically means that most folks have no choice but to go through NKTR...however with their 6mg/ml cap and only 4 flavors to choose from, that's going to be a deal breaker for 99% of vapers. I think I'm going to contact NKTR and see if they are willing to produce higher mg/ml nic content (at a higher price tag) and/or offer an unflavored option.

 

[zoiDman]

Just doing a little math, $10,000 for 1L of 1000mg/ml comes out to $250 for 1L of 25mg/ml (not including the cost of the VG or PG base). Compare this to Nude Nicotine, who charges $50 for 1L of 24mg/ml base with VG/PG...and I'm starting to see why the cost might be prohibitive to DIY.

This basically means that most folks have no choice but to go through NKTR...however with their 6mg/ml cap and only 4 flavors to choose from, that's going to be a deal breaker for 99% of vapers. I think I'm going to contact NKTR and see if they are willing to produce higher mg/ml nic content (at a higher price tag) and/or offer an unflavored option.

This is the Inherent Downside of Non-Tobacco derived Nicotine. Cost.