Tar & Nicotine Testing

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The amounts of tar and nicotine produced by a cigarette vary from product to product in response to consumer demand. In most countries of the world, this information appears on the packets so consumers can select according to their preference or taste.

Generally, the tar and nicotine rating of a cigarette is determined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) methods, which are recognized throughout most of the world.

Nicotine is one of many naturally occurring plant substances containing nitrogen, which are known collectively as alkaloids. Nicotine is found in tobacco and, in much lower quantities, in other members of the same family, which includes tomato, potato, aubergine (eggplant) and green pepper.

Smoking machine

When a cigarette is smoked on a specially designed smoking machine, the smoke particles produced are collected on a filter. The water and nicotine are then extracted and measured (according to a method defined by ISO). The remaining material on the filter is then defined as "Nicotine Free Dry Particulate Matter" (NFDPM) or "Total Particulate Matter, Water and Nicotine Free" (TPMWNF). This is the tar value.

However, a smoking machine cannot replicate exactly individual smoking behavior. Smokers puff on cigarettes in different ways - just as petrol consumption in cars depends on each person's driving habits. What these methods do provide is a system of comparison between products. These methods do not therefore give individual smokers a precise figure for how much tar and nicotine they will inhale when smoking that brand.