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CORESTA Meeting, Smoke/Technology, Hamburg, 1997, ST06

Mouth insertion depths in Canadian smokers

DUNN P.; PORTER A.
Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
There is the potential for smokers of ventilated cigarettes to block the ventilation holes either accidentally or deliberately thereby increasing the smoke deliveries beyond the declared values. One way in which the holes can be blocked is by inserting the cigarette in the mouth so that the holes are partially or completely blocked by the lips of the smoker. We have attempted to assess if and to what extent this occurs by measuring the saliva patterns on 2000 cigarette butts collected in Montreal and Toronto. The butts were a cross-section of brands smoked in Canada. Saliva stains were visualised by treating the tipping paper with ninhydrin solution. The insertion depth was assumed to be the maximum extent of the saliva stain from the mouth end of the tipping. The brand of each cigarette butt was identified where possible as well as whether the filter was ventilated and if so the distance of the vent holes from the mouth end. The butt lengths were also determined. Of the 2000 butts collected, 1614 had saliva stains that could be visualised with ninhydrin solution. 58.7% of the butts were ventilated. The mouth insertion depths and the proportion of holes that could have been blocked or partially blocked will be reported. This data will be compared to similar data collected 15 years ago in regard to any changed smoking behaviour as related to changed yields.