Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Institute for Global Tobacco Control, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Tob Control. 2022 Aug;31(e1):e18-e24. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-056173. Epub 2021 Mar 9.
Tobacco companies are offering cigarettes with 'concept' descriptor names that suggest sensation and/or flavour properties (eg, Marlboro 'Velvet Fusion'). Little has been known about the identities and levels of flavour chemicals in such cigarettes.
Thirty-three filter cigarette variants from 27 packs (including two sampler packs with four variations each) from Canada and Mexico were analysed (rod + filter) for 177 flavour chemicals plus triacetin, a filter plasticiser and possible flavourant. Five brands of US mentholated filter cigarettes were also analysed.
Twenty-seven of the 33 cigarettes (all were Mexican variants) were categorised as 'menthol-plus': significant menthol (3.0-11.9 mg/cigarette), plus varying amounts (0.32-3.4 mg/cigarette) of total other flavour chemicals (TOFCs) (excludes triacetin). For 10 of the 27, TOFCs >1.0 mg/cigarette. For 7 of the 27, the TOFCs profile was categorised as containing total fruit flavour compounds (TFFCs) >1.0 mg/cigarette. One Mexican variant was categorised as 'menthol-only' (TOFCs ≤0.15 mg/cigarette). All menthol-plus and menthol-only cigarettes contained one or two optional-crush capsules in their filters (crushed prior to analysis). All five Canadian brand variants were 'non-flavoured'. All five US brand variants were 'menthol-only'.
All but one of the 'concept' descriptor cigarettes from Mexico were 'menthol-plus'. While the Canadian cigarettes complied with Canada's flavour chemical ban, concept descriptors on the packs may increase appeal. Given the scale of the problem posed by menthol alone, health officials seeking to decrease the appeal of smoked tobacco should examine the extent to which 'concept descriptor' cigarettes using 'menthol-plus' flavour profiling together with artful descriptors are furthering the problem of smoked tobacco.
烟草公司正在推出带有“概念”描述符名称的香烟，这些名称暗示了感官和/或风味特性（例如，万宝路“丝滑融合”）。对于此类香烟中的风味化学物质的身份和水平，人们知之甚少。
分析了来自加拿大和墨西哥的 27 个包装（包括两个每个包装有四个变体的样品包装）中的 33 种过滤香烟变体（包括过滤嘴），共分析了 177 种风味化学物质，外加三醋酸甘油酯、过滤嘴用塑料增塑剂和可能的香料。还分析了 5 种美国薄荷醇过滤香烟品牌。
33 支香烟中的 27 支（均为墨西哥变体）被归类为“薄荷醇加”：显著的薄荷醇（3.0-11.9mg/支香烟），加上不同量（0.32-3.4mg/支香烟）的总其他风味化学物质（TOFCs）（不包括三醋酸甘油酯）。在 27 支香烟中的 10 支中，TOFCs >1.0mg/支香烟。在 27 支香烟中的 7 支中，TOFCs 图谱被归类为含有总水果风味化合物（TFFCs）>1.0mg/支香烟。一种墨西哥变体被归类为“仅薄荷醇”（TOFCs ≤0.15mg/支香烟）。所有的薄荷醇加和薄荷醇单支香烟的过滤嘴中都含有一个或两个可选的压碎胶囊（在分析前压碎）。所有 5 种加拿大品牌变体均为“非调味”。所有 5 种美国品牌变体均为“仅薄荷醇”。
除了一种来自墨西哥的“概念”描述符香烟外，其他所有香烟均为“薄荷醇加”。虽然加拿大的香烟符合加拿大的风味化学物质禁令，但包装上的“概念”描述符可能会增加吸引力。鉴于单独使用薄荷醇带来的问题规模之大，寻求降低吸烟烟草吸引力的卫生官员应该研究使用“薄荷醇加”风味特征和巧妙描述符的“概念描述符”香烟在多大程度上进一步加剧了吸烟烟草的问题。
