Roll-your-own smoke yields: theoretical and practical aspects

Abstract

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)

Prevalence and correlates of roll-your-own smoking in Thailand and Malaysia: Findings of the ITC-South East Asia Survey

“…First, little is known about the health risks of RYO tobacco use relative to FM cigarettes. Standard machine-determined yields of RYO cigarettes suggest that RYO smokers may be exposed to higher levels of smoke constituents per cigarette compared with smokers of FM cigarettes (Darrall & Figgins, 1998;Djordjevic, 2004;Dymond, 1996;Kaiserman & Rickert, 1992). However, given that estimates of exposure were made using variants of standardized puffing regimes that do not accurately reflect human exposures (Hammond et al, 2007), the possible adverse health effects remain pure speculation.…”

Tobacco Smoking Among Incarcerated Individuals: A Review of the Nature of the Problem and What is Being Done in Response

“…Partly as a result of this, there can be an increased frequency of smoking hand-rolled cigarettes, which is even worse for one's health given their increased tar and nicotine contents (Darrall & Figgins, 1998). When considering this in conjunction with the finding that correctional inmates smoke similar rates of cigarettes per day as compared to community samples, it appears that incarcerated smokers may be at an elevated risk to become dependant on the physiological effects of smoking and have a higher likelihood of developing later health problems as a result .…”

Who uses rollies? Trends in product offerings, price and use of roll-your-own tobacco in Australia

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