Toxicological evaluation of an electrically heated cigarette. Part 2: Chemical composition of mainstream smoke.

The chemical composition of mainstream smoke from an electrically heated cigarette (EHC) and that of mainstream smoke from the University of Kentucky Reference Cigarette 1R4F was analyzed. In contrast to the 1R4F, which is a conventional, lit-end cigarette, the EHC is smoked in a microprocessor-controlled lighter with electrical heater elements. The electrical heating causes the tobacco under the heater element to burn at a low temperature during each puff. A comprehensive list of chemical constituents was analyzed in mainstream smoke. The list is a combination of those compounds suggested for analysis in cigarette smoke by a US Consumer Product Safety Commission proposal in 1993, and those cigarette smoke constituents identified by the International Agency on Research on Cancer as being present in cigarette smoke and characterized as carcinogens. The low pyrolysis/combustion temperature of tobacco in the EHC causes distinct shifts in the composition of the smoke compared with a conventional cigarette. A significant drop was seen in the yields of almost all toxicologically relevant constituents. On a per cigarette basis almost two-thirds of the constituents were reduced by at least 80%, whereas on an equal total particulate matter basis about two-thirds of the constituents were reduced by at least 50%, with many constituents reduced by more than 90%.