Tobacco Documents Online

Reports on research to determine "the ventilation level of ventilated cigarettes during human smoking, without any disturbance of equipment on the cigarette during smoking" using random samples of Philip Morris Ultra Lights and Barclay. Concludes that method could be used to predict tar and nicotine level of cigarettes smoked as per NEN 3382. Includes data and calculations.

Examines three "cigarette-design tools" used by Philip Morris in developing low delivery cigarettes: filter efficiency, filter dilution, and inclusion of expanded tobacco. Explains process of reducing tar and CO without changing the puff count. Emphasizes current use of filter dilution and expanded tobacco in development of low tar cigarettes, noting that "only RJR and Philip Morris have their own technical process for expanding tobacco."

Posits that filter dilution could adversely affect "the ambient smoke issue" due to increased emission of smoke constituents. Cautions that "widespread use of Exit type filters with the associated high degree of variability of smoke dilution experienced by the smoker might lead the authorities to stipulating that filter dilution must be suppressed on smoking machine measurements of the smoke yield." Suggests projects focused on filler modifications resulting in reduced filler combustion which, in turn, would result in reduction in smoke yield while maintaining puff count.

Reports on experiment to "determine whether the increase in nicotine-to-TPM ratio with increasing filter dilution is caused by a filter phenomenon or by a rod phenomenon." Finds that a rod phenomenon is responsible for the increase.

Presents results of efforts "to develop mathematical models for treating filter dilution in computer modeling systems used for cigarette design applications." Includes references.

Reports on findings from study to examine how deeply cigarettes are habitually inserted between smokers' lips and whether PPA holder interferes significantly with cigarette holding patterns. Includes illustration.

Reports on reduction of smoke constutuents in Parliament 100s with 20% dilution versus Parliament 100s with holes covered.

Reports on BAT Suisse study to determine maximum insertion depth of cigarettes by smokers and related lip occlusion of ventilation holes. Finds that average insertion depth among 24 ventilated brands is 12mm, noting that "highly ventilated cigarettes are inserted deeply into the smokers mouth and consequently the ventilation level is reduced during normal human smoking."

Describes smoking machine designed to measure smoke delivery, but which does not accurately report what a smoker actually receives. Details machine data collection and how this varies from human smoking. Reports that smokers smoked more intensely under stressful lab conditions. Describes importance of nicotine in smoking, and dual stimulant/relaxant effect. Finds that smokers compensate to achieve higher nicotine delivery from lower tar products. Suggests smoking habit might be rejected if nicotine levels were too low.

Posits that the concept of high nicotine/low tar products is not new. Cautions against confusing TPM/nicotine ratio with PMWNF/nicotine ratios. Identifies ratios that empirically indicate "norms" for latter part of 1977, and points out difficulties in producing ratios of 6 using conventional tobacco blends. Includes delivery data for various cigarette brands.

Argues theory that lower T/N ratios of low yield cigarettes insure a lower tar intake even if smokers smoke the cigarette in such a way to obtain more nicotine. Includes data.

Describes study to evaluate the accuracy of the DELIVER Version 3 computer program designed to predict total and puff-by-puff cigarette deliveries under both machine- and human-smoked conditions. Concludes that Version 3 has improved Reference Prediction but not Pure Prediction or prediction of human deliveries, and therefore would not serve as a tool for human smoking studies.

Reports on results of in vivo air dilution tests on Kool Ultra Lights which use the same Actron filter as Barclay cigarettes. Notes that previous test on Barclay indicated that the Actron filter produces "dramatic" reduction in air dilution when smoked by humans versus FTC machines, resulting in skewed delivery readings. Finds that Kool Ultra Lights produce similar results. Includes data and study questionnaire.

Describes two large-scale studies of human smoke intake using smoked low and ultra-low tar cigarette butts to determine nicotine deposition. Compares tar intake for Barclay and Cambridge brands. Finds that more nicotine is retained on Barclay filters when smoked by humans than when smoked by machines. Opines that discrepancy is due to larger and more frequent puffs rather than lip occlusion. Includes data.

Presents research "to determine differences in puff-by-puff 'tar' and nicotine deliveries among commercial brands of similar FTC 'tar' (per cigarette) deliveries." Identifies cigarette parameters that influence puff-by-puff deliveries: tobacco moisture, tobacco weight, tobacco nicotine, cigarette paper, air dilution and filtration levels, casing levels, and circumference. Finds that Philip Morris brands showed lower puff-by-puff nicotine deliveries than RJR competitive brands "in spite of their generally lower tobacco weights and moistures which are expected to result in higher puff-by-puff deliveries." Concludes that cigarettes with similar FTC tar deliveries can vary substantially in puff-by-puff deliveries. Includes data.

Attaches data illustrating that change in filter efficiency with change in smoking parameters affects prediction of nicotine delivery from filter nicotine measurements. Notes observations that smoking patterns differ by age and gender, and deducts that "the average nicotine filter efficiency differs among demographic groups." Concludes that nicotine delivery, therefore, cannot be estimated from filter nicotine data unless smoking parameters are also measured.

Reports on perceptions of, attitudes toward, and usage of full priced 1 mg tar cigarette brands among smokers of ultra low tar and 1 mg brands. Indicates that research was conducted to support launch of True Micro Lights. Assesses response to True Micro Lights advertising, packaging, and cigarettes. Finds that most low tar smokers were not aware of the tar level of their brands; 1 mg tar smokers acclimated to smoking low tar after a period of adjustment; half of the ultra low tar smokers tried Carlton and reacted with "no taste, no satisfaction." Reports on favorable response to True Micro Lights cigarettes, and predicts ability of brand to compete with other 1 mg tar brands and attract smokers of ultra low tar brands.

Lists issues raised at "1 mg tar meeting" including how much nicotine is needed to make satisfying ULTs, "is compensation real?", and "assumption: nicotine is reason why people smoke cigarettes."

Reports on study to determine percentage of dilution holes covered by smokers when smoking, and effect on dilution levels. Finds that as the percentage of blocked holes increased, dilution levels decreased and tar deliveries increased. References previous study by Kozlowski et al. questioning effectiveness of ventilated filters in reducing tar levels. Includes data.

Describes method for determining insertion depth of smoked, ventilated cigarettes. Compares results from new method with those from 1974 methods, indicating similar findings. Concludes that "depending on the position of the ventilation zones in different brands, preliminary results show that 20-50% of smokers could reduce more or less the degree of ventilation."

Reports on studies to investigate claim that finger occlusion of filter ventilation holes results in higher tar delivery to smoker than indicated by FTC smoking machine procedures. Presents findings from both laboratory and consumer data. Concludes that "finger coverage has relatvely little bearing upon the question of how much tar any given brand delivers compared to any other brand." Includes data.

Reports on methods and results from experiment to determine impact of covering dilution holes on tar delivery numbers. Finds that "the decrease in dilution from covering a portion of the perforated area can result in an increased delivery to the smoker of highly-diluted cigarettes even though the puff parameters decrease."

Presents results of study evaluating incidence and duration of finger occlusion of filter dilution holes during smoking. Reports that "forty percent of all recorded puffs" were subject to some occlusion, although "incidence does not seem related to the delivery of the cigarettes." Reports an average of 24% duration of coverage indicating that 24% of generated smoke was generated during occlusion. Notes that proportion of occlusion was lowest among ultra low tar smokers, in contrast to "the hypothesis that the ultra-low tar smokers will learn to smoke differently than smokers of higher delivery products." Includes data on change in tar levels (from FTC tar) from finger occlusion, concluding that blockage resulted in "trivial" changes.

Reports on test to examine how lip occlusion of filter ventilation holes impacts mainstream puff volume. Concludes that mainstream puff volume is not affected by lip occlusion under normal smoking conditions. Lists possible explanations for findings: "(1) smokers adjust puff intake in order to maintain TPM and/or nicotine constancy; (2) occlusion of the air holes does not linearly reduce air dilution, thus, up to an undetermined point, the blocking of holes will result in increased compensating flow through the remaining unblocked holes."

Reports on study to evaluate incidence of finger occlusion of filter ventilation holes during smoking, and impact of the occlusion on FTC tar delivery. Finds that holes were occluded during 41% of puffs taken, but that incidence of coverage was unrelated to FTC tar delivery. Reports that when holes were deliberately covered, mean tar delivery increase for each brand of cigarette did not exceed 0.5 milligrams. Includes data, references and handwritten notes and edits.