The Effects of Filter Ventilation and Expanded Tobacco on the Tar, Nicotine and Carbon Monoxide Yields from Cigarettes Sold in Australia
Series / Report no.
Open Access
Type
Journal Article
Article
Article
Language
en
Date
2024-12-31
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Title
The Effects of Filter Ventilation and Expanded Tobacco on the Tar, Nicotine and Carbon Monoxide Yields from Cigarettes Sold in Australia
Translated Title
Published in
Int J Environ Res Public Health 2024; 22(1):50
Abstract
Cigarette brand variant names and characteristics such as the taste and feel of the smoke can mislead consumers into believing some products are less harmful. We assessed the characteristics of three common cigarette variants sold in Australia, "gold", "blue" and "red", to determine which characteristics differed by color, and which affected tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide (TNCO) yields. TNCO yields, physical parameters, expanded tobacco and filter ventilation were measured in cigarette color variants from eight brands. Filter ventilation and expanded tobacco were common across brands and variants. Compared to blue and red variants, gold variants had slightly shorter tobacco rods and greater filter ventilation. Gold variants had lower TNCO when measured using the industry-favored International Organization for Standardization (ISO) protocol. ISO-measured TNCO yields were associated with filter ventilation and tobacco rod length, but not use of expanded tobacco. When measured using the Health Canada Intensive (HCI) protocol, which better emulates human smoking behavior, TNCO emissions were markedly higher, and the emission differences by extent of filter ventilation were minimized, indicating that ISO measurements are misleading. These findings confirm that cigarette color names, and the filter ventilation levels they signify, remain misleading more than a decade after plain packaging eliminated pack colors in Australia, as higher levels of filter ventilation are not associated with reduced TNCO emissions measured using the HCI protocol. Consumer education and communication campaigns could amplify the impacts of Australia's newly passed tobacco legislation banning color and other variant names that imply reduced harm.