There is continuing interest, by health professionals and individuals, in the composition of mainstream tobacco smoke. Regular official surveys of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide yields are from time to time supplemented by special surveys of specific components. In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to identify and quantify benzene and certain other volatile compounds of interest in the mainstream smoke of 26 cigarette brands on the UK market and of smoke from hand rolled tobacco. Validation of the method adopted demonstrated the ability to identify and to measure reliably the yields of benzene and seven other compounds: toluene, ethylbenzene, m/p-xylene, o-xylene, styrene, isoprene and acrylonitrile. Yields of these analytes were ranked and compared with the tar yields of the brands. In general terms, brands yielding < or = 3 mg of tar yielded proportionately more of the vapour phase analytes than did brands yielding > 3 mg of tar per cigarette. For many of the higher tar brands the yield of vapour phase analyte was approximately proportional to the tar yield. Smoking cigarettes with an average yield of 50 micron of benzene per cigarette has been compared with the occupational maximum exposure limit (16 mg m-3) concentration and with US studies on the home environment. Smoking the majority of brands examined could contribute significantly to the population exposure of benzene and the other volatile organic compounds considered in this study.

Objective-To identify the key parameters that influence smoke yields from rollyour-own (RYO) cigarettes and to compare smoke yields of cigarettes made under laboratory conditions with those made by habitual RYO consumers. Design and setting-One-way parametric variations in the laboratory-based production of RYO cigarettes complemented by a consumer survey conducted in a busy street at Romford, Essex, United Kingdom. Subjects-26 habitual RYO consumers. Main outcome measures-Cigarette weights, puV numbers, and yields (carbon monoxide, nicotine, and tar). Results-Smoke yields vary for specimen changes in weight of tobacco used, paper porosity, and the incorporation of a filter in the cigarette. Yields of cigarettes produced by 26 RYO smokers ranged from 9.9 to 21.0 mg tar per cigarette and from 0.9 to 1.8 mg nicotine per cigarette, and were generally lower than yields of laboratory-produced RYO cigarettes. Conclusions-Laboratory studies can provide useful information concerning the parameters that aVect smoke yields of RYO cigarettes such as the incorporation of a filter to reduce yields. However, such studies must be complemented by surveys of cigarettes made by actual current RYO smokers. In one such investigation, it was found that the mean tar yields from cigarettes produced by 57% of the smokers were above the current maximum of 15 mg per cigarette for manufactured cigarettes. Currently 8% of manufactured cigarettes in the UK have a declared nicotine yield of greater than 1.1 mg per cigarette whereas 77% of RYO smokers produced cigarettes with a nicotine yield greater than this value. (Tobacco Control 1998;7:168-175)

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SUMMARYThe collection of sidestream smoke (SSS) using the "BAT fishtail chimney" method became the accepted standard, but following the harmonisation of linear and rotary smoking machines it is no longer possible to observe all parameters of the method as published. A prerequisite of any SSS collection method is that mainstream smoke (MSS) yields should not be affected. Additionally all the standard features and parameters of normal MSS collection should as far as possible remain unchanged. The previously published method and current harmonised MSS collection are not compatible mainly due to the significant increase in air-flow rate over the cigarettes that is now necessary. This study describes the use of a modified chimney that incorporates an airtight insert causing a reduction in aperture size leading to a local increase in airflow over the cigarette. The method optimises SSS collection whilst maintaining full compliance with the current International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) Standards for MSS collection. [Beitr. Tabakforsch. Int. 20 (2002) RESUMEPour recueillir la fumée du courant secondaire (CS) le «BAT fishtail» est devenu la méthode de référence, mais après l'harmonisation des machines à fumer linéaires et rotatives, il n'est plus possible d'examiner tous les paramè-tres comme cela a été publié. Pour chaque méthode de collecte du CS, il est indispensable que le rendement du courant principal (CP) ne soit pas affecté. De plus, toutes les caractéristiques et paramètres standards de collecte du CP devraient, dans la limite du possible, rester inchangés. La méthode publiée et la méthode actuelle harmonisée de collecte du CP ne sont pas compatibles, surtout à cause du débit d'air significativement plus élevé à travers les cigarettes, nécessaire pour la méthode actuelle. Cette étude décrit l'utilisation d'une cheminée modifiée ayant un insert étanche à l'air conduisant à une réduction de l'ouverture et ainsi à une augmentation locale du flux d'air à travers la cigarette. La méthode optimise la collecte du CS en conformité avec la Méthode Standard ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) pour la collecte de la fumée du courant principal. [Beitr. Tabakforsch. Int. 20 (2002) [69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76]