Tobacco Documents Online

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6~7-01 R~SEARCH "PROPOSAL regarding PROJECT ARIEL for the BrRish American Tobacco Co Lid Westminster House, 7 Millbank Londont S.W. 1 BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE International Division 7, route de Drize Geneva o o c~ 0

RESEAItCII PROPOSAL regarding PROJECT ARIEL by BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE I. INTRODUCTION Although the ~nswers to all the questions regarding the physio- Iogic~d. behaviour of nicotine in human beings are by no means complete as yet, we now come to a stage when an attempt to arrive at a first prac- tical outcome of our research should be envisaged. That which we have in mind is the development of a new smoking device that, by administra- tion of nicotine in a suitable form, should give full satisfaction to smo- kers while at the same time avoiding the well-known disadvantages in- herent in actual cigarette smoking. The requirements of such a new device could be ch~ned as follows:- - Use should be made of tobacco as such in a form similar to that in which it is smoked in order to avoid interference with the legislation in force about drugs. This requirement would not pro- hibit the use of other forms of nicotine in the initial experiments. - The device should meet the psychological aspects of smoking. This implies that the devices should be capable of being puffed and O C CxD m w

i, i , , ,,, I,i ......... -2- held either in the hand or in the mouth thus conforming in use to the usual habits of smokers. - The formation of tar and carbon mor~oxide,-as is the case in the smouldering reaction of conventional smoking, should be avoided. If. PROPOSED RESEARCH The aim of the research covered by this proposal would be to study physical and chemical methods of nicotine release from tobacco and its combination with a suitable gadget that would allow nicotine in- take by smokers in such a way that it would meet the above requirements. III. RESEARCH PROGRAMME Study of these problems would mainly comprise the following points :- 1. Study of (a) the Behaviour of Compounds of Nicotine c. _h o i.~. ~..o .~ ~ .~ _u _~ t_~.b.~_t -= i. ~o_t _~ _~ _~ _~o__~ p _~ .~ _~ Ao _~_ i_t _~_ _~ _d .m.~ _~ _~ _~ t_ ~ at _~ o by inhaling Nicotine as a free base is not appropriate for administration to human beings either through the digestive track or into the lung. Besides making people cough, it is also too quickly trans- ferred Into theblood stream and thus creates too high an initial concentration before the "partition" has been accomplished. As nicotine in the form of its free base is apparently more vola- tile than its salts, the creation of a suitable combination, such M t.j< t.J,J

..° -3- I I I, 1 t 1 1 I as for instance a salt with an organic acid or an aerosol, should be studied after the sublimation of nicotine. Such a • the nicotine consumer. complex should give a pleasant feeling, to (b) Formation of a._volatil_e ch.em ical c o_mp__t_ex_ with nicotine_ As Lt cart already be foreseen that the necessary heat genera- tion for the sublimation of nicotine will be a major problem, it would be ideal if one could transform nicotine into a chemical complex that would have sufficient vapour pressure at room temperature to allow its being administered in appropriate con- centrations by the sucking action of the smoker. For this rea- son we would study nicotine displacement from molecular sieves by water vapour. We would also try to combine nicotine with molecules which themselves have a low vapour pressure at room temperature. 2. Study of the Sublimation of Nicotine from Tobacco Leaves or from Tobacco Extracts Previous experiments conducted in the Laboratories of the British Amer;tcan Tobacco Co. Ltd have shown that nicotine can be voiati- lised in the form of its free base by dry distillation either from to- bacco leaves or from nicotine salts at temperatures starting from 120 - 130°C with an optimum ( before decomposition occurs} in the range of 220°C. Quantitative measurements would be performed to find out what heat is necessary to produce nicotine equivalent to a smoking puff. In a later stage a qualitative picture should be obtained of the other components released from the tobacco leaves. C C ¢_,. t.,- Oc ¢..2

I I I i I I III I I I I I -4- Study of suitable heat generators would be concentrated in the beginning on systems using the heat of adsorption of water vapours lake bentonite or molecular sieves. AnOther mechanism could be found in a chemical reaction with water, like the extinction of lime. In this event the necessity of dipping the gadget into water or even other liquids prior to **smoking'* could be accepted. Combination of the sublimation of the nicotine complex with the heat generating mechanism should make it possible for nicotine to be delivered in vapour or aerosol form quite like the puffing technique of a smoker. 3. Ph~'siological Tests The new arrangement should give as much psychological and physiological pleasure to the smoker as conventional smoking does, and it should also create addiction in about the same rela- tive amounts. Experience gained during our E~IAD HATTER re- search would be applied to a study of the behaviour of nicotine obtained with the new device by adequate animal tests. Particular attention would be paid to biological tests to ascertain the extent to which the device is intrinsic':ll~" safe. 4. Construction of a smoking device The mechanical form of the new gadget would be designed, on the basis of all the new knowledge gathered during the course of the experiments as proposed above, and its workin~ ~vould be checked on confirmed smokers. 0 G C~

-.5- IV. CONDUCT OF RESEARCH To carry out this programme° the Battelle Institute would entrust various specialists from among its staff with the task of solving special problems ; however, the group which has already performed research work of Mad Hatter Ill would remain in close touch with the new pro- gramme. In addRion, a physical chemist from the InstRute's Physics Division would be directly responsible for the co-ordination of the re- search work. V. RE PORTS In addition to personal contact between all persons concerned, BAT would be kept informed of pro[,ress made wRh the research by means of monthly letter reports and a comprehensive report every three months, On completion of research, a final report would be drawn up, containing full information on the results achievsd as w ~.Ii as any prac- tlcal recommendations that may be relevant. Vl. DURATION AND COST OF RESEARCH The research programme outlined above (paragraph Ill), con- sisting in the study of physical and chemical methods of nicotine rel?ase from tobacco in order to construct a n~.w smoking device, would require approximately one year. The relevant budget would not exca~.d the sum of Swiss francs 150 000. VII. START OF WORK Research work could start one month after signature of the contract. Geneva, 3rd of January 1962 CHH/Lf/191-21 Co

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