He decided to quit after 20 years of smoking. That was the hard part.
After trying nicotine gum and a nicotine vapor inhaler with little success, Roth invented a new cigarette of his own – a "liquid cigarette" – to suppress his addiction to nicotine.,”
- Milwaukee-area inventor creates "liquid cigarette"
- It's used by sipping a cherry-flavored nicotine liquid
- Clinical trials begin February
Brett Roth of West Allis, Wis., used to be a two-pack-a-day smoker. Doral Menthol Light 100s was his brand of choice.
He decided to quit after 20 years of smoking. That was the hard part.
After trying nicotine gum and a nicotine vapor inhaler with little success, Roth invented a new cigarette of his own—a "liquid cigarette"—to suppress his addiction to nicotine.
"I wanted something smokers could look forward to," said Roth, whose Smoke-Break invention will be undergoing clinical trials starting in February. "Smoking for the smoker is fun, so I wanted something that could compete with cigarettes."
The cigarette-shaped tube filled with a cherry-flavored nicotine solution is meant to give the effect of smoking, without inhaling—only sipping. Roth describes it as a "melted cherry popsicle with a kick."
"It felt more like I switched brands," Roth said.
Each Smoke-Break has 1.5 milligrams of nicotine in it, about the same amount in a regular light cigarette, Roth said. Nicotine gum contains between 2 milligrams and 4 milligrams of nicotine, and nicotine patches have around 7 milligrams, 14 milligrams and 21 milligrams, he said.
When Roth started sipping his Smoke-Break tubes in the spring of 2004, he consumed around 50 per day. Eventually, he decreased that amount by half, and said he had his last regular cigarette in October that year.
Roth said he decided to quit smoking at the beginning of 2004, but it wasn't until March that he thought of creating a "liquid cigarette." Roth posted a flier at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee requesting someone to develop his liquid solution. Chemistry graduate student Terry Clayton responded.
"Brett gave me a very detailed description of what he wanted," Clayton said. "The fact that he had in his head exactly what a liquid cigarette would look like, made my job very easy."
Using food grade chemicals, a high shear mixing device, an analytical balance and other lab materials, Clayton developed the solution. And Clayton said he was sure to develop the solution's cherry flavoring—Roth's favorite.
There have been adjustments since the early versions of Roth's invention, which amounted to a syringe with red-flavored liquid. The Food and Drug Administration approved the continuation of his study in April 2007 after the red coloring was removed, Roth said.
Roth said he still uses Smoke-Break for fun on occasion, or when a new batch is ready to be tested.
Now Roth is looking for heavy smokers who want to quit to participate in the Smoke-Break clinical trial. He's working with Carl Olson, chairman of the radiation oncology department at Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, to test its efficacy and safety.
"We'll see how it turns out," Olson said. "I quite honestly think that people will embrace it because it will have a lot of the same replicated mannerisms that you do with smoking. We want to be very careful and explain that we're not doing this because we know it's going to be successful, but because we think it's going to be successful."
The three-month clinical trial will include about 100 volunteers. If the product is proven safe, another study could be conducted to prove Smoke-Break's effectiveness versus other nicotine suppressant methods like the patch, gum and lozenges, Roth said.
The FDA would have to grant final approval for Smoke-Break to go on the market. If Roth's "liquid cigarette" ever does become available for purchase, Roth said he hopes they would be sold over-the-counter, at or below the price of cigarettes.
The clinical trial will take place at the Tommy G. Thompson Center at the Wisconsin State Fair Park. Smokers who would like to volunteer for the study can call 1-800-444-0355.
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