title: Influence of cigarette circumference on smoke chemistry, biological activity, and smoking behaviour.
abstract: Cigarettes with reduced circumference are increasingly popular in some countries, hence it is important to understand the effects of circumference reduction on their burning behaviour, smoke chemistry and bioactivity. Reducing circumference reduces tobacco mass burn rate, puff count and static burn time, and increases draw resistance and rod length burned during puff and smoulder periods. Smoulder temperature increases with decreasing circumference, but with no discernible effect on cigarette ignition propensity during a standard test. At constant packing density, mainstream (MS) and sidestream (SS) tar and nicotine yields decrease approximately linearly with decreasing circumference, as do the majority of smoke toxicants. However, volatile aldehydes, particularly formaldehyde, show a distinctly non-linear relationship with circumference and increases in the ratios of aldehydes to tar and nicotine have been observed as the circumference decreases. Mutagenic, cytotoxic and tumorigenic specific activities of smoke condensates (i.e. per unit weight of condensate) decrease as circumference decreases. Recent studies suggest that there is no statistical difference in mouth-level exposure to tar and nicotine among smokers of cigarettes with different circumferences. Commercially available slim cigarettes usually have changes in other cigarette design features compared with cigarettes with standard circumference, so it is difficult to isolate the effect of circumference on the properties of commercial products. However, available data shows that changes in cigarette circumference offer no discernible change to the harm associated with smoking.
authors.affiliation: Group Research & Development, British American Tobacco (BAT), Regents Park Road, Southampton, SO15 8TL, UK. Electronic address: Kevin_McAdam@bat.com.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McAdam
authors.affiliation: Group Research & Development, British American Tobacco (BAT), Regents Park Road, Southampton, SO15 8TL, UK.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eldridge
authors.affiliation: Group Research & Development, British American Tobacco (BAT), Regents Park Road, Southampton, SO15 8TL, UK.
authors.forename: Ian M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Fearon
authors.affiliation: Group Research & Development, British American Tobacco (BAT), Regents Park Road, Southampton, SO15 8TL, UK.
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Group Research & Development, British American Tobacco (BAT), Regents Park Road, Southampton, SO15 8TL, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manson
authors.affiliation: Group Research & Development, British American Tobacco (BAT), Regents Park Road, Southampton, SO15 8TL, UK.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: 3810 Saint Antoine West, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D023421:Models, Animal; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D009538:Nicotine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012906:Smoke / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013638:Tars / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D062789:Tobacco Products / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012906:Smoke; D013638:Tars; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D009538:Nicotine
keywords: Bioactivity; Cigarette; Circumference; Formaldehyde; Slim; Smoke yields; Smoulder