Tobacco Documents Online

'FIRE SAFE' CIGARB'TTES' Based on our experience, our knowledge of the technicall literature, and discussions at the meeting, of the ad hoc commit- > tee on 'Fire Safe Cigarettes" of the International Association of ~ire Chiefs, New York,, November 16, 1981, we offer the following suggestions. I. In principle, the pending bill H1.R. #18601 on 'Fire Safe ,. I Cigarettes~' introduced by Congressman J. Moakley offers a satis- factory basis for initiating studies on self-extinguishing ciga- a rettes. However, I appears that the task is very compl~ex and one could' not hope to arrive at scientifically sound conclusions i after only 2 years of research, since major efforts have to be ~ dlirectei& towards: evaluations of the toxicological properties of the self-extinguishing cigarettes. It woulid be unwise to d'isre- S 9 ard the potential for increased toxicity of' the smoke that might result from cigarettes which are modified to~self:-exting;uish. I We would envision a step-by-step development of the program along the following guidelines. 1. Testing method.. Establish, standard~izedmeth~odolog~y' to determine the poten- ial of iglnitedl cigarettes to inflame upholistered' furniture made

various fiber materials. The method of John Krasney, U.S. tional Bureau of' Standards, is a, good beginning,, but does not clude testing smoulderimg, cigarettes in furniture crevices. nsideration, should; be given to the use of' thermocouples with, a. i (%Icording device which would register the radiant heat emitted'. 6bm the burning cone of a, cigarette into the various fibers. measuring device used for this purpose shoul& give~ reliable ~. riadings at various degrees of humidity of the ambient air (',2'0- 2. Determination of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. Upon development of standard measuring devices for the, in- aming potential and subsequent approval of these devices by the Bureau of Standards, the development of' experimental ciga- ttes should ;-)egin with those modifications that appear to have . ~ , e most prom~is~ing~ potential for a fire!-saf~e cigare~tte,. Treat- of the cigarette paper andl changes in the diameter of' the arette are two important considerations in this regard. Toxic agents such as sil!icates should not be utilized for jper~ treatment, no~r~~ as~ a~dd~i~tive~:s to toba~cco~. Candidate cigal- ld! h hi ' i i ' ou s ng ngu ext self- s ttes holding promise to qualify as ~nerate no more than 10 mgi of tar, I mg of nicotine, and 1'0-12. f carbon monoxide in their mainstream smoke when measured N N ler PTC-standiardl smoking conditions. O Gi - 2 - 0) W ti. O

3. Smoke analyses. If a candidate cigarette fulfills these criteria, main- stream smoke yields must also fall within acceptable rang~es for the following comppounds: i a.) Gas Phase: formaldehyde, acrolein, acetaldehydie,. J benzene, toluene, hydrogen cyanide, Y~ ~ V, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, carbon mo~no- ~ xide, carbon dioxide, aceton!itrile, and volatile N-nitrosamines b) Total Smoke: pH , c) Particulate Phase: in addition to 'tar' azsd nicotine, w, volatile phenols, catechol, aromaticc amines, quinoline, benz(a)anthrace,ne, I benzo(a:)pyrene ('and possibly other carcinogenic aromatic hydheocarbons),, and the tobacco-specif'ic N-nitrosamines The mainstream smoke yields of the aforementioned compounds should not significantly exceed corresponding emissions from untreated cigarettes with identical tobaccolor blend'. ~ 4. Bioassays. If all qualitative and quantitative analytical parameters of the smoke of the candidate seYf-extinguishing cigarette are satisfactory, bioassays have to be completed for evaluation of toxic, mutagenic, carcinogenic, and, cocarcinogenic potential of' - 3 -

;the smoke of' the modif ied cigarette. These evaluations would in- lude the Ames test for mutagenicity, assays for carcinogenicity a nd cocarcinogenilcity of tobacco smoke particulates on mouse skin nd inhalation of whole smoke with Syrian golden hamsters.. ~ ; 5. Clinical assays. i ~ The c4kndidate self-extinguishing cigarette emerging from ; the screening process diescribed' above with negative toxicity i Sata must besubm~itted tocli~lnical assays with at least 10I~volunteers who are long-term, (>10 yrs) cigarette smokers. These volunteers would be asked to smoke the control cigarette for 2 4eeks and then switch to the candidate cigarette for the next 2. eeks. At r:he beginning and at the end~ of the assay for each, ~ ciga~rette,, volunteers' blood pressure wiill be measured' and blood ~ samples will be taken. C'arboxyhelnoglobin, nicotine, cotinine, ~ . iand' thiocyanate will be, measured in the blood samples. The ~'. ~ readings: and assay data obtained should': not reflect greater uptake of' smoke components: than those seen with the control IC igarette (untreated, unmodified);. The candidate self-extinguishing cigarette can be considered a viable product only whena11 aspects, the pyroquality, tar and~ nicotine yields,. analytical smoke profiles, bioassays, and clinical assays are. I !satisfactory. We realize that the taste characteristics, i.e. the smoke iflavor of an experimental cigarette, must be consumer acceptab2e. 4