Effects of Varying Tobacco Rod Circumference on Cigarette Combustion: An Experimental Investigation

To study the effects of tobacco rod circumference on cigarette combustion status, cigarettes were made with three different circumferences of 24 mm, 20 mm, 17 mm and otherwise identical construction. Their combustion characteristics, including combustion coal volume, characteristic temperature distribution, heating rate, instantaneous burn rate, and yields of selected mainstream smoke chemicals, were systematically measured. The results indicated that the cigarettes with the lowest circumference of 17 mm showed higher combustion temperatures with a smaller coal volume. The maximum instantaneous burn rate was distinctly different for the three cigarettes, from 1.84 mm/s to 2.48 mm/s, when their circumference was reduced from 24 mm to 17 mm. The tobacco mass consumption per puff showed a negative trend when the circumference decreased. The majority of the chemical compounds (16 of 21) measured in mainstream smoke decreased when the circumference was reduced, except for formaldehyde, while the yields of the chemical compounds produced per weight of cut tobacco, consumed during puffing, showed an obverse trend.