Product Design
Premier
Abstract
Presents the background, development and technology of the Premier cigarette. Describes the design and assembly of this device and states the most critical feature of this product is the tobacco portion. States Premier's objective is to achieve smoking taste and pleasure comparable to low yield cigarettes, testing is being performed on cigarettes with and without tobacco and RJR taste panels conclude that tobacco is a necessary part of design. Indicates the Coalition on Smoking and Health and the American Medical Association have petitioned the Food and Drug Administration contending Premier is a drug delivery system. Reviews polls of individuals that have smoked Premier, notes possible licensing of technology from RJR and reports market share in two test cities.
Fields
- Author
- Norman, Vello, Ph.D. (LOR R&D VP)Physical chemist employed by Lorillard since 1970's, V.P. in charge of R & D since 1991.
- Hypothesis
- Design changes over timeChanges in cigarette design over the past half century.
- Health effects
Design changes which have measurably altered health effects of cigarette smoke, both for smokers and nonsmokers.- Introduction of new/unconventional products
Research and development of novel nicotine delivery devices and experimental tobacco designs.- Low-yield cigarettes
Modification of low yield products to assure that adequate levels of nicotine delivery are maintained, and effects of yield changes on toxicity and dependence.- Nicotine transport, transfer, and uptake
Design changes which alter nicotine delivery or effect how the product causes and maintains dependence, including transfer of nicotine from tobacco to smoke, and uptake into the body.- Perceptions of ETS
Design changes to reduce perception of environmental tobacco smoke among smokers and nonsmokers in response to public concerns about the dangers of ETS.- Sidestream constituent yields
Modification of selected sidestream smoke constituents in response to health concerns.- Use of additives
Modification of tobacco products through use of additives and measuring effects on dependence, behavior, and toxicity.- Use of filters, paper, and ventilation
Modification of tobacco products through use of filters, paper, and ventilation, and measuring effects on dependence, behavior, and toxicity. - Health effects
- Keyword
- Aerosol
- Attribute perception ratings
- Brand Specifications
- Consumer acceptability (Consumer preference)
- Delivery modification
- Environmental Tobacco Smoke ETS
- Fire safe
- Flavor/ Taste (Attribute measure)
- Free nicotine (Unprotonated or unionized nicotine)
- Human testing
- Inhalation (Smoke inhalation)
- Intake (Smoker yield)
- Low delivery (Reduced delivery)
- Nicotine delivery (Smoke nicotine or nicotine yield)
- Patents
- Perception of draw
- Satisfaction
- Secondhand Smoke (Sidestream smoke, SS)
- Sensory response
- Tobacco taste (Attribute measure)
- Attribute perception ratings
- Additive
- glycerin
- Propylene glycol
- Menthol
- Propylene glycol
- Smoke Constituent
- Nicotine
- Design Component
- Air dilution
- Ash formation
- Burn accelerator
- Carbon plug
- Combustion temperature
- Expanded stem (Puffed stem, ES)
- Filter length
- Filter ventilation (Filter vents, air vents)
- Flavorant
- Humectant
- Nicotine content (Tobacco nicotine content)
Total nicotine in the unburnt tobacco rod- Nicotine transfer efficiency (NTE)
- Plug wrap (Plugwrap)
- Tipping paper
- Woodpulp fiber
- Ash formation
- Named Organization
- American Medical Association (physicians group)Professional trade group representing American physicians.
- Coalition on Smoking and Health (Coalition on Smoking and Health)
An anti-smoking group representing the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association (NYT 5/13/94).- United States Food and Drug Administration
- MSA
- Nabisco Brands (Subsidiary of RJR for a time, then Philip Morris)
Snack and cookie-manufacturing company, often held by a tobacco company. See RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp.- R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (Cigarette manufacturer (Camel, Winston, Doral))
Cigarette manufacturer (Camel, Winston, Doral)- Lorillard Tobacco Co. (American cigarette manufacturer)
American cigarette manufacturer; makes Kent, MaxSatin, Newport, Old Gold, Style, and True cigarettes. - Coalition on Smoking and Health (Coalition on Smoking and Health)
- Brand
- Premier Brand Cigarettes ("Smokeless" cigarette by RJR in the early 1990s)"Smokeless" cigartte marketed by RJR in the early 1990s. Stationary furnace devices such as this operate by separating the combustion material (carbon) from the aerosol generating material (mostly glycerol) such that the inhaled by-products yielded upon smoking are the distilation products (glercerol and water) rather than combustion products (nicotine + smoke constituents). This is one reason why this product failed in market. Flavoring is derived from tobacco, nicotine, the paper roll and sprayed dried extract. Addition flavor of primarily rasberry ketone and chocolate was also added to enhance tobacco taste and give rise to a "pleasing aroma" in the smoke. This added flavor was a major reason that Premier failed in market as the taste was very different from conventional cigs.
- Subject
- Filters (Design)
- Paper (Design)
- Ventilation (Design)
- additives
- aerosol (technology)
- Experimental Technology (Technology)
- nicotine technology
- Smoke Constituents
- Smoke Delivery/Transport (Measures)
- Sensory Effects—Impact (Effects)
- Sensory Effects—Taste (Effects)
- Test/Consumer Preference (Testing)
- secondhand smoke
- Fire Safe Cigarettes (Products)
- Novel Cigarette Devices (Products)
- Paper (Design)
Document Images
I
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PREMIER
0
Vello Norman
Introduction
If things like that were included in the Guinness Book of World
records, and perhaps they will be, the launch of Premier by
RJR/Nabisco would establish several new world records. It is the
largest single brand expenditure in the history of the tobacco
industry, and perhaps in all of consumer goods; it is projected to
eventually reach the neighborhood of one billion dollars. All
aspects of its behavior and performance upon smoking - the
physics involved in the process of smoking, the chemistry of the
"smoke" stream that issues from the end of this device (I will
reserve judgement whether to call it a cigarette or not), and
the effect of the "smoke" on various biological test systems
are more thoroughly documented than anything in the history of
smoking. It was the most closely guarded secret for a project of
this size, and I might add, successfully guarded secret, in an
industry that abounds with closely guarded secrets.
The first patent issued on December 22, 1987. For approximately
two years before that there were rumors circulating in the
industry about a huge project called the "Black Hole" which was
being carried out by RJR in a specially built compound in
Winston-Salem. Much of this information came from the regular
suppliers of materials to the tobacco industry, but nobody had
any concise ideas what the project was all about. In retrospect,
there were bits and pieces of incidental information floating
around as long as ten years ago. This had to do with the kinds of
engineering and scientific people that RJR was hiring, the kinds
of scientific meetings that their people were attending, and the
questions they were asking at the meetings. As I said, how all
these pieces fit into the puzzle, makes only sense in
retrospect. Ten years ago we did not even know there was a
puzzle.
lLJ
Technologically speaking, the Premier is a remarkable
achievement. A standard kind of a present-day cigarette has
usually five components - tobacco, filter material, and three
paper components - cigarette paper, plugwrap paper and tipping
paper. The manufacturing operation has essentially four steps -
the making of the tobacco rod, the making of the filter rod,
cutting the respective rods into the requisite lengths, and
assemblying the cut pieces into a finished cigarette. The Premier
has seven internal components and seven different paper
components. We estimate that the preparation of all the different
parts and the assemblying them into the finished article requires
at least ten different manufacturing steps. Some of the steps can be
carried out by processes and machinery used in standard cigarette
making, but for others, machinery either had to be adapted from
other industries or invented outright. The tolerances in some of
the assembly operations are much tighter than for standard
cigarettes or else, the device does not work at all.
Anatomy of Premier.
The next slide shows schematically how a Premier is put together CM
- there is a heat source, an insulator, a metal capsule }Cj,e
CD
containing flavor adsorbed on a substrate, a tobacco filler, ~
a two piece filter, and all the parts are assembled with seven
different papers.
3
The heat source is an 8mm long extruded plug of carbon containing
sodium carboxymethylcellulose binder. The carbon plug is seated
about 3mm deep in the front end of the adjacent metal capsule.
The carbon plug has seven large central holes whose function is
to pass heated air into the center of the adsorbent bed inside
the metal capsule. The carbon plug also has six small peripheral
holes which apparently serve to heat up the walls of the metal
capsule which then, in turn, would pass heat to the surrounding
tobacco bed. This is one of these places where tolerances are
very critical, and the size and placement of the holes controls
the temperature achieved in the capsule and tobacco, the
subsequent flavor release rate and the draw resistance. One must
assume that the particular geometry of the holes used was found
to be the optimum after much experimentation.
The carbon plug is surrounded by a mat of fiberglass insulation
whose function is to focus the heat generated into the adjacent
metal capsule and to minimize radiation.loss to the outside. An
additional benefit of the insulation is that it keeps the outside
of the Premier from getting hot enough to catch anything on fire,
even when it is dropped, e.g., on an upholstered piece of
furniture.
The next component is an aluminum capsule. The carbon plug is
seated in the front end of the aluminum capsule, and the back end
has two slots to permit passage of the heat-generated "smoke"
stream.
The capsule is filled with porous alumina beads which also
contain some silica gel. This is an inert material which is
commonly used for adsorbing vapors and liquids. Since it is inert
it does not chemically react with the adsorbed materials, and it
has the property of releasing the intact adsorbed materials when
heated.
The substrate beads have adsorbed on them some spra_y-dried
tobacco extract, some proprietary flavors in propylene glycol
solution, and a large amount of glycerin. Upon heating, the
glycerin forms small aerosol droplets which are visually
similar to smoke generated by ordinary cigarettes. Components
of the spray-dried tobacco including nicotine and added
flavors are vaporized, for the most part recondense on the
glycerin droplets, and thus ride piggy-back into the "smoke"
stream that issues from the end of the Premier. In all their
public utterances RJR is making a special point of emphasizing
that the capsule contains no added nicotine.
The metal tube, including the exit from the tube is surrounded
bv tobacco. The tobacco has a relatively high nicotine content
(4-5%), it is expanded, and it appears to be predominantly a
blend of burleys. Expanded tobacco is presumably used in order
to reduce the weight of the Premier because it is very close to
the Class A cigarette tax weight limit. When the walls of the
aluminum capsule get hot, volatile components of tobacco,
including nicotine are volatilized and carried towards the back
primarily because the vapors generate a positive pressure
within the tobacco section. Both, the fiberglass insulation
and the paper wrapper around the tobacco have a very low
permeability to air, and there is probably only a very minimal
air flow through the tobacco section. Once the vapors reach the
exit of the metal tube, they condense on the glycerin aerosol
and join the "smoke" stream.
The tobacco portion,and whether it is a necessary part of the
device is politically the most critical feature of the Premier,
1',
since the question of whether it fits the definition of a
cigarette hinges on the presence of tobacco. On one hand, there
is a petition before the FDA, filed on August 23, 1988 by the
Coalition on Smoking and Health and the American Medical
Association which contends that tobacco is unnecessary and asks
the Premier to be declared a drug delivery system and hence to
be regulated by the FDA. The petition points out that the RJR
patent (US Patent #4,714,082) states that the tobacco is only
an optional and not a necessary feature of the device. On the
other hand, RJR concedes that the patent does indeed say so but
contends that it is common patenting practice to cover as broad
a range of embodiments as possible, and that in the actual
version being marketed, i.e., the Premier, tobacco is an
organoleptically necessary part. According to RJR, the absolutely
necessary design objective in order for there to be any
possibility of marketplace acceptability was to achieve smoking
taste and pleasure at least comparable to that of current low
yield cigarettes. RJR submitted various versions of the device,
without and with various amounts of tobacco, to extensive
sensory panel testing. The panel concluded that the design must
incorporate quantities of tobacco comparable to what is in the
marketed version of Premier. Only then did the designers
achieve the goal of smoking taste and pleasure sufficient to
warrant offering it to the market. As of this writing, the
petition and RJR's response are still before the FDA. My
impression is that FDA, already having their hands full with
all kinds of other tasks do not particularly want to tackle
this problem. In the meantime, the American Medical Association
has taken a different tack, and they are now putting pressure
on the authorities of the two states - Arizona and Missouri -
where the Premier is being test marketed, to have the product
banned.
In Lorillard's testing of the Premier, we have smoked them as
is and with the tobacco portion removed, and we tend to disagree
with RJR's conclusion. We find that the tobacco portion
contributes some nicotine, but otherwise relatively little
to the organoleptic quality of the Premier.
The next part of the Premier is the tobacco-paper filter. This
.
is fabricated from fiber derived from tobacco stems and
unbleached softwood craft. The paper is crimped and folded into
a 10mm long cylinder. RJR claims that it is a source of natural
tobacco flavor but it appears doubtful that stem fibers
contribute much tobacco flavor. The section does some filtering,
and, according to RJR, cools the aerosol. The latter claim is
probably true - the aerosol, as it emerges from the metal
cylinder is quite hot, as is the outer skin of Premier (this is
the reason for the extra thick paper wrapper; in fact, the outer
skin gets too hot to touch during
paper would probably scorch). The
from the Premier, however, is not
of cooling must take place in the
filter contains some nicotine and
smoking, and ordinary cigarette
"smoke" stream, as it issues
uncomfortably hot, and a lot
filter sections. The paper
possibly some added flavorants.
The menthol version of Premier has charcoal in the paper filter,
presumably for carrying some adsorbed menthol.
CD
a
The final section of the Premier is a 28mm long polvpropvlene
web filter. The filter has a very low density, serves to cool
the smoke further and does very little filtering.
Evaluation
So, technologically speaking, Premier is impressive, but does it
do what it was supposed to do?
RJR has stated the objectives of Premier as follows:
1. Simplify the mainstream and sidestream chemistry by
eliminating or reducing compounds produced by burning
tobacco.
This has been successful with some qualifications. In
ordinary cigarette smoke, approximately 4000 chemical
compounds have been identified, most of them in very
minute concentrations. Out of that list of 4000, RJR
has published data on 31 compounds. Of that 31, three
have been eliminated, two have increased (vs. normal
cigarette smoke; one of these is carbon monoxide),
and the other 26 are present in much lower
concentrations. So, has mainstream smoke composition
been simplified? Yes, somewhat. Have compounds produced
by burning tobacco been reduced? Yes, the majority have
been reduced.
01 2. Minimize the Potential for biological activity as
measured by toxicological assays and tests frequently
used to study cigarettes and cigarette smoke.
Most of the 31 compounds on the above list fall into
the category that have biological activity. Since most
of these have been reduced, it follows that most
toxicological assays and tests should show reduced
biological activity.
3. Minimize environmental tobacco smoke and its potential
annoyance.
Sidestream smoke which makes up the bulk of environmental
tobacco smoke has been shown by RJR to have a
substantially simpler composition. Some of the compounds
which have been identified as causing annoyance (e.g.,
ammonia and formaldehyde) have been significantly
reduced (ammonia by 99%, formaldehyde by 65%). Thus, this
can be considered a success.
4. Provide the tobacco taste and smoking pleasure of other
cigarettes, as demanded by smokers, and to the degree
possible.
This, of course, is the primary objective on which the
success or failure of the whole project hinges, and the
two key phrases are: "as demanded by smokers" and "to
the degree possible". We shall address these questions
next.
In the laboratory, we have dissected and analyzed the Premier in
all sorts of ways. One of the more interesting pieces of
information relates to where the nicotine is, and what happens to
it when the Premier is smoked. This is a crucial point because
this is the focal point of the attacks by AMA and the anti-
smoking coalition who want to declare the Premier a drug delivery
system. The next slide shows schematically where the nicotine is
and where it goes after the Premier is smoked. The largest
proportion of nicotine resides in the tobacco (2.10mg), but upon
smoking, the largest amount delivered comes from the capsule
(1.50 - 0.56 = 0.94mg). The tobacco paper filter has some
nicotine on it, but it gains nicotine upon smoking, and it is
difficult to tell whether any of the nicotine that was on the
filter to begin with is delivered into "smoke". Some of the
nicotine is lost (0.48mg), perhaps some of it escapes to the
outside, and perhaps some of it is destroyed by heating. My guess
is that the bulk of the nicotine delivered into the "smoke"
stream (0.22mg) comes from the capsule. This is probably the
reason RJR keeps insisting so vehemently that all the nicotine
in the capsule comes from spray-dried tobacco, and that no free
nicotine has been added.
Conducting polls has been a very popular pastime in recent weeks,
and so I conducted my own scientific poll among Lorillard
employees who had tried the Premier. I am not sure what the
margin of error in this poll is.
This is what I asked:
1. After having smoked your first Premiers, did you like
them well enough to buy some more? (Ignore the fact that
you are a Lorillard employee and think as if you were an
independent smoker).
YES NO
2. List some reasons why you like_d..the Premier:
3. List some reasons why you disliked the Premier:
4. What is your favorite brand?
a. Do not smoke
b. Ultra (<6mg)
Menthol Non-menthol
LoTar (6-14mg) HiTar (>14mg)
I ended up with a panel of 50+ respondents, mostly regular
cigarette smokers, some pipe smokers and some non-smokers
(never-smoked or ex-smokers).
This is what they said:
Question 1. Response: There was nobody who would definitely say
that "Yes, I will go out and buy some more." There
were a number of responses from non-smokers who felt
that smokers ought to go and buy some.
Question 2.
Response: The top "likes" categories were the
following (more than 10% of the respondents):
1.
2.
3.
n i1', J
No visible sidestream
No ash `6
Innovative, ingenious, good concept
4. Perceived health benefit I'l
q
Question 3. Response: The top "dislikes" categories were the
following (more than 10% of the respondents):
1. Bad taste ~j
2. Difficulties with lighting or keeping it lit .
-J'
3. Sidestream odor, room aroma
4. Disposal of the finished "butt"
~~
5. Bad draw '
6. Lack of satisfaction ~
7. Gets hot j
There were no discernable differences between the smokers and
non-smokers in the "likes" and "dislikes" categories. The
conclusion emerges from this, admittedly small sample, that while
the article has generated some interest, it is largely viewed as
a contraption and that the "dislikes" outweigh the "likes" by
such a large margin that very little buying interest is generated.
I would like to end this presentation by asking and answering
some questions which came to mind.
1. Q. Given all the resources that RJR has at their disposal, and
we know that they have some good and knowledgable people in
their R&D department, how come they came out with a product
that tastes and smells so bad?
A. This is another puzzle, and one can only make educated
guesses. My assessment is that it was a combination of
things: 1. There was a premature release of publicity which
generated pressures within the company to come out with it
before it was ready. 2. The Nabisco people got into the
act, and they might well have a different perception of
what constitutes an acceptable aroma and taste. 3. There
are considerable toxicological constraints which limit
the selection of flavorants that can be used.
2. Q. Can the taste and aroma problems be fixed?
A. It can probably be improved but there are a couple of
caveats. One is the above-mentioned toxicological
constraint as to what constitutes a permissible flavor.
A second one is that the inside of the Premier gets quite
hot, and a large number of compounds that are ordinarily
used in cigarettes are too volatile for this kind of a
system and would be flashed off very quickly, within the
first couple of puffs, and would not be perceptible during
most of the smoking process.
3. Q. If the necessity arose, could Lorillard produce such a
device to compete with the Premier in the marketplace and
be outside the patent coverage of RJR?
A. Not within a short time frame.
4. Q. Is our R&D working in this area?
A. Yes, we continue to work on new products and product
improvements, but it is a little premature to talk
about specifics at this time.
5. Q. Could the Premier technology be licenced from RJR?
A. Probably, but again, there would be a long lead time,
particularly to acquire the manufacturing equipment and
make it work.
6. Q. How is the Premier doing in the test market areas?
A. The latest MSA New Product Tracking Report put the initial
market shares at 1.19% in St.Louis, 1.76% in Phoenix and
2.56% in Tuscon, but these readings only indicate initial
interest, and do not repreresent repeat buying of the
product. Consumer reaction appears to be largely negative
and parallels what we found in our survey, but our
information is mostle anecdotal or is based on what we
read in the newspapers. In the next presentation, Dick
Safley will give some first-hand observations about what
he has seen in the target areas.
