ELECTRONIC cigarettes are poorly labelled and under-regulated, claim researchers who analysed the products’ design, packaging and health claims.

E-cigarette manufacturers state that they are designed to deliver a tobacco-free nicotine hit. Prue Talbot and Anna Trtchounian at the University of California, Riverside, looked at various brands and found that there was an absence of consistency when describing nicotine concentrations on labels, with levels described as high, medium or low varying between brands.

Even packets that state they contain "zero nicotine" listed nicotine as an ingredient.

Even e-cigarettes that the packets state contain ’zero nicotine’ listed nicotine as an ingredient

The researchers also found that some nicotine cartridges for the e-cigarettes appeared to leak, potentially leading to unwanted exposure. "Nicotine itself isn’t a carcinogen, but when deposited on a surface carcinogens can form," Talbot says.

The pair seek tighter controls from regulators in the sale of the e-cigarettes