In 2016, the CORESTA Smokeless Tobacco Sub-Group (STS) (now named Tobacco and Tobacco Products Analytes Sub-Group, TTPA) conducted a small scale investigational study for the determination of nitrite and nitrate in smokeless tobacco products using ion chromatography (IC) and/or continuous flow analysis (CFA).  The goal of the work was to determine if the IC and CFA methods produced similar results for the determination of nitrite and nitrate in smokeless tobacco and provide recommendations to the TTPA for a larger study that would lead to the development of a CORESTA Recommended Method (CRM).

The study results demonstrated that the supplied IC method and the participants’ CFA methods provided comparable data and are suitable for the determination of nitrite and nitrate in smokeless tobacco.  For this reason, the TTPA decided development of a CRM was not necessary.