GB2190275A - Smoking articles - Google Patents

Description

GB2190275A 1 SPECIFICATION tent of the smoking material of the smoking

article.

Improvements relating to smoking articles The present invention provides a smoking article comprising a rod of smoking material The invention the subject of this application 70 and a nicotine release element attached to relates to smoking articles. said rod at a mouth end of said rod, said Proposals have been made in the patents element comprising a smoke pervious body of literature for simulated smoking articles com- a polymeric material composed of carbon and prising a tubular casing and a body of carrier hydrogen atoms only, the surface of said ma material disposed within the casing. According 75 terial being hydrophobic and being without to these proposals the carrier material is chemical functionality, said body carrying nico treated with an agent which volatilises when tine, whereby when said smoking article is air is drawn through the casing. Proposals of smoked, smoke drawn through said element this nature are contained in United States Pa- from said rod causes release into the smoke tent Specifications Nos. 2,721,551; 80 of nicotine from said body.

2,860,638 and 3,404,692, South African Pa- The smoking material preferably comprises tent Specification No. 697737 and United or consists of tobacco, which tobacco is

Kingdom Patent Specification No. 2 032 244. suitably in conventional cut filler form. The to

According to US 2,860,638 (Bartolomeo), ZA bacco can be of air-cured, flue-cured, Burley 697737 (Zwarenstein) and GB 2 032 244 85 or Oriental type, or may be a blend of any of (Ray) the volatile agent with which the carrier these. A proportion of the tobacco may be material is treated is or can be nicotine. tobacco which has been subjected to an ex Proposals have also been made in the pa- pansion process. It is also possible for the tents literature for means for the enhancement smoking material to comprise a reconstituted of the mainstream smoke nicotine delivery 90 tobacco product or a tobacco substitute ma level of cigarettes. It has been proposed in terial. Preferably the smoking material com United States Patent Specification No. prises a nicotine source.

3,422,819 to treat the paper wrapper of a The rod of smoking material may comprise cigarette with a nicotine salt, the cigarette be- a passage extended to the region of the ing provided with a second, outer wrapper in 95 downstream end of the rod, whereby, during order to prevent the wrapper treated with the the smoking of the smoking article, hot smoke nicotine salt coming into contact with the is conveyed to the downstream end of the smoker's lips. It is the teaching of United rod. For further details of smoking articles Kingdom Patent Specification No. 1,032,330 comprising such a passage reference may be to contact a particulate ion exchange resin 100 had to United Kingdom Patent Specification with nicotine and to incorporate the resultant No. 2 149 287A.

nicotine-ion exchange resin complex in ciga- The polymeric material may be of a fibrous, rette filters. According to the disclosure of cellular or particulate constitution and the body

United States Patent Specification No. thereof is suitably of cylindrical conformation.

3,584,630, nicotine is adsorbed on a finely 105 The nicotine carrying body of polymeric ma divided weak adsorbent which is then incor- terial may abut at the upstream and/or down porated in tobacco or in tobacco smoke fil- stream end thereof a filter plug of, for ters. The preferred adsorbents in US example, cellulose acetate. Both upstream and 3,584,630 are types of carbon black. downstream filter plugs are suitably employed In European Patent Specification No. 174 110 if the polymeric material is in particulate form.

645 there are disclosed simulated smoking The polymeric material of the nicotine carry articles comprising a short combustible carbo- ing body is advantageously polyethylene.

naceous fuel element and a substrate bearing Other suitable materials include polypropylene an aerosol forming substance, the fuel element and polystyrene. The use of materials such as and the substrate both being in contact with 115 these provides distinct advantages over prior heat conducting means. Nicotine may be car- art proposals. These materials may be made ried on the substrate. in close and continuous conformity to predet It is an object of the present invention to ermined physical and chemical specifications.

provide in an improved manner a cigarette, or These materials are also readily susceptible to similar smoking article, in the smoking of 120 accurate shaping by being, for example, ex which the nicotine level of the smoke deliv- truded to provide rod from which cylindrical ered from the cigarette is greater than the plugs may be cut. Such plugs are self-sustain nicotine level of the smoke at exit from the ing, that is to say, the plugs do not require downstream end of the smoking material rod for dimensional stability to be wrapped in a of the cigarette. 125 plugwrap. Furthermore, these materials are in It is a further object of the present invention expensive and are clean to use in cigarette to provide in advantageous manner means manufacturing processes.

whereby the nicotine-to-tar ratio of the main- The nicotine carried by the body of poly stream smoke of a smoking article may be meric material may be free nicotine, a nicotine increased independently of the nicotine con130 salt or a nicotine derivative. In addition to 2 GB2190275A 2 nicotine, there may be applied to the body of When the cigarette 1 is smoked, tobacco polymeric material one or more volatile flavour smoke from the rod 2 passes through the agents, menthol being one such agent. plug 7 and thereby causes nicotine in the plug The nicotine carried by the nicotine carrying 7 to volatilise. The nicotine vapour and to body should be in direct contact with the 70 bacco smoke then pass through the filter plug polymeric material of the body; that is to say, 8. In this manner the nicotine delivery level of the nicotine should be unencapsulated. the mainstream smoke is enhanced in relation If the nicotine of the nicotine release ele- to the level that would obtain if the cigarette ment is free nicotine, a further smoke pervious did not include the nicotine loaded plug 7.

element, which further element carries an acid, 75 The tipping wrapper 4 may be perforated at may be located adjacent to the nicotine re- the region of the plug 7 and/or the plug 8 to lease element. By use of such an arrange- permit the ingress of ventilation air. Preferenti ment, with suitable relative nicotine and acid ally, if ventilation perforations are present, the loadings, there may be formed during the perforations should be located at the region of smoking of the smoking article a salt having a 80 the plug 8.

pH value in the range of approximately 5 to 7. In Figure 2 the cigarette 1' there depicted The resultant change in the pH of the main- has similar reference numerals to those of Fig stream smoke, from what might otherwise be ure 1 for similar parts. The cigarette 1' of a value above 7, serves to enhance the sen- Figure 2 is of the same construction as the sory characteristics of the smoke. Suitable 85 cigarette 1 of Figure 1 except that the mouth acids for this pH control purpose include lactic end assembly 3 comprises, in place of a filter acid and tartaric acid. plug, a further cylindrical plug of open cell Whereas it is possible to load a pH control- polyethylene designated 8'. The plug 8', which ling acid on the nicotine release element at the is of the same length and physical constitution same location thereon as the nicotine, it has 90 as the plug 7, is impregnated with lactic acid.

been found that with such arrangement the It was found that when the plug 7 of the nicotine level in the mainstream smoke is not Figure 2 cigarette was impregnated with 10 very much higher than that of the smoke at mg of free nicotine and the plug 8' thereof exit from the downstream end of the smoking was impregnated with 10 mg of lactic acid, material rod. A significantly more effective ar- 95 the nicotine level of the mainstream smoke rangement is for the acid to be loaded on a flowing from the plug 8' during the smoking separate element located adjacent the nicotine of the cigarette was, as measured over nine release element. The separate, acid carrying machine smoked puffs, enhanced by about element is suitably located to the side of the 75% as compared to a plain, i.e. untipped, nicotine release element further from the 100 control cigarette, having a cigarette rod the smoking material rod. In another arrangement same as that of the cigarette of Figure 2. The the nicotine release element and the acid car- nicotine in the mainstream smoke as a percen rying element are disposed at the same longi- tage of the particulate matter (water and nico tudinal zone of the smoking article with the tine free) was 13, whereas that for the control elements occupying respective portions of the 105 cigarette it was only 5. 8.

transverse cross-section of the zone. When A similar mainstream smoke nicotine level this arrangement is adopted there is preferably enhancement to that exhibited by the Figure 2 located between the two elements a separat- cigarette would be expected from the Figure 1 ing partition formed of a vapour impervious cigarette if the plug 7 thereof was loaded with material. 110 10 mg of nicotine.

Cigarettes in accordance with the present In a further experiment puff-bypuff nicotine invention are shown, by way of example, in deliveries were measured for cigarettes each the drawing hereof. comprising a tobacco rod from a standard The cigarette shown in the Figure 1, which British middle tar cigarette, a 10 mm long cel- is generally designated by reference numeral 115 luiose acetate filter element in abutment with 1, comprises a 64 mm cigarette rod 2, a the tobacco rod and a 10 mm long nicotine mouth end assembly 3 and a tipping wrapper release element in abutment with the filter ele 4 which serves to interattach the rod 2 and ment. The nicotine release element comprised the assembly 3. The rod 2 comprises as a plug of polyethylene impregnated with 10.8 smoking material a low nicotine, flue-cured, 120 mg of nicotine. The nicotine delivery values cut tobacco filler 5 and a cigarette paper for these cigarettes were compared with wrapper 6. The mouth end assembly 3 com- those for control cigarettes comprising to prises a cylindrical plug 7 of open cell poly- bacco rods of the above mentioned standard ethylene, which has been impregnated with 3 middle tar type and 10 mm long cellulose ace- to 10 mg of free nicotine, and a cylindrical 125 tate filter elements as per those of the experi filter plug 8 of cellulose acetate. As may be mental cigarettes. It was determined from this seen from the drawing the plug 7, which conexperiment that the average nicotine delivery stitutes a nicotine release element, is disposed enhancement of the experimental cigarettes intermediate and in abutment with the ciga- comprising the nicotine release element as rette rod 2 and the filter plug 8. 130 compared with the control cigarettes de- 3 GB2190275A 3 creased from 0. 10 mg for Puff 1 to 0.07 mg for the final puff, Puff 7.

Claims (11)

1. A smoking article comprising a rod of smoking material and a nicotine release element attached to said rod at a mouth end of said rod, said element comprising a smoke pervious body of a polymeric material composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms only, the surface of said material being hydrophobic and being without chemical functionality, said body carrying nicotine, whereby when said smoking article is smoked, smoke drawn through said element from said rod causes release into the smoke of nicotine from said body.

2. A smoking article as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said polymeric material is selected from the group comprising polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene.

3. A smoking article as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein said nicotine is free nicotine.

4. A smoking article as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said smoking material consists, at least predominately, of tobacco and wherein in the smoking of said article the nicotine delivered in the mainstream smoke is not more than fifty percent (50%) greater than the nicotine delivered in the smoking of a plain control cigarette.

5. A smoking article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, said smoking article having a mainstream nicotine delivery in a range of 0.05 mg to 3.00 mg.

6. A smoking article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in the smoking of which the ratio of the nicotine delivered in the mainstream smoke to the particulate matter, water and nicotine free, delivered in said mainstream smoke is greater than said ratio for a plain control cigarette.

7. A smoking article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, and further compris- ing, at the mouth end region of said smoking article, an acid which is reactable with said nicotine to provide a salt.

8. A smoking article as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said acid is disposed at a location other than the location of said nicotine.

9. A smoking article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, said article being a cigarette.

10. A smoking article as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said smoking material comprises cut tobacco.

11. A cigarette substantially as herinbefore described with reference to Figure 1 or Figure 2 of the drawing hereof.

Printed in the United Kingdom for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Dd 8991685, 1986, 4235. Published at The Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A lAY, from which copies may be obtained.