A capsule is a widely used flavour carrier in cigarettes. It is a very effective tool to deliver menthol and other flavours to mainstream tobacco smoke. According to observations from our previous studies, capsules tend to develop hairline cracks after a certain period of time in an open cigarette pack. This study measured and compared flavour migration through different capsule shells with various flavours. All capsules used in this research were commercially available and widely used in the industry: animal and non-animal based.

Three impingers were used to evaluate flavour migration through capsule shells. The first one was filled with 50 g of the capsule being analysed, the second one with methanol as solvent and the third was used to capture solvent vapours. Fixed air flow was adjusted through impingers for a certain period of time. The volume of aliquot was measured and checked for the presence of flavours by Agilent 5973N GC-MS each day. Flavour migration rate was calculated for each product. The study showed that the type of capsule shell and flavour had a significant influence on flavour migration through capsule shells.

This study provides very practical and insightful data about shelf life and flavour migration from capsules.