With worldwide emerging regulations on tobacco products and their ingredients, pyrolysis studies seem to be inescapable when product health risks under a design modification should be assessed.

The study objective was to evaluate the effects of the cigarette paper design in combination with tobacco on thermal degradation components.

Firstly, the pyrolysis conditions (temperature, oxygen level) and their influence on thermal degradation components were examined. For cigarette paper, thermal degradation occurred at very low levels below 350 °C. The oxygenated species decreased with temperature. The pyrolysis profile was not strongly impacted by the oxygen level (2-20 %). The observed changes were mainly pronounced in the intensity.

Secondly, the cigarette paper ingredient effects were evaluated in comparison to cellulose. At 450 °C, higher analytical readings for levoglucosan and furfural were observed with cellulose, whilst for cigarette paper higher analytical readings for propanal, pentanol, furanone and cyclopentadienone derivatives were found. The main thermal degradation pathway for cellulose is a depolymerisation, whilst for the cigarette paper the dehydration pathway was identified.

Thirdly, the effect of cigarette paper with and without tobacco through different cigarette paper design parameters including porosity, basis weight, filler and salt was examined. At 450 °C only basis weight and citrate levels affected the thermal degradation and impacted the formation of acetone, diacetyl, 1,3-cyclopentadiene. At 700 °C, an effect of basis weight on benzene, toluene, phenol was observed. Additionally, an effect of citrate on crotonaldehyde was found. The variation induced by the cigarette paper design was very low. The analytical results suggest that the effects seen, are mainly driven by the tobacco.

In conclusion, pyrolysis experiments coupled with analytical methods are a useful tool to identify harmful by-products components generated by thermal degradation of ingredients. Pyrolysis studies could help to identify the level of the effect of each ingredient and its potential interaction with paper or tobacco.