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Bull. Spec. CORESTA Congress, Jerez de la Frontera, 1992, p. 90, ST16, ISSN.0525-6240

An interesting compound of the sidestream smoke of cigarettes : hexamethylenetetraamine

SARABIA J.; GONZALEZ J.M.
Tabacalera S.A., Centro I + D/Embajadores, Madrid, Spain.
Hexamethylenetetraamine-HMTA has been identified in the sidestream smoke condensate of cigarettes. This compound is the result of a well-known reaction between ammonia and formaldehyde. Using the"fish-tail"chimney device for sidestream collection, HMTA was analyzed together with common components of mainstream and sidestream smoke of twenty-four commercial brands of cigarettes from the Spanish market. HMTA and sidestream nicotine analyses were jointly performed by GC, using a specific nitrogen-phosphorus detector. HMTA was found both on the chimney walls and in sidestream filter traps, but no trace was present in mainstream. Experimental data showed that the ammonia evolved to sidestream smoke and that the presence of some humectants in the tobacco filter directly affects the formation of HMTA. A multivariate analysis applied to mainstream and sidestream analyzed components _ including HMTA _ allowed a good discrimination between black and blonde cigarettes.