GB2296853A - Safety cigarette - Google Patents

Abstract

The cigarette can use shredded tobacco leaf without the need to be treated with nitric and sulphuric acids to overcome the "extinguishing cigarette" phenomenon and consists of an air vent 14 located along the central axis in the shredded tobacco leaf section 12 via an inner layer of seed flax paper 10 and a primary air vent 22 spanning the central axis of the oil absorbent section 16 which is coupled to the air vent of the shredded tobacco leaf section. Four sets of seconds air vents 20 located 90 degrees in the, circumference and spanning the length of the oil absorbent section, are fed perpendicularly to the primary air vent of the oil absorbent section.

Description

SAFETY CIGARETTE This invention relates to a safety cigarette.

The e nitric and sulphuric acids impregnated in the standard commercial cigarette, cigar and pipe-tobacco are the main cause of most of the health problems in smokers. The practice of gun-cotton or nitrocellulose was used to overcome the "extinguishing cigarette" phenomenon and to burn the cigarette continuously 0 at about 880 C and under explosive pressure. The reason for the "extinguishing cigarette" is that the tobacco oil, which is released during the process of burning, traps carbon monoxide. The 1962 study made by Royal College of Physicians in London concludedt "Cigarette smoking is a cause of lung cancer and bronchitis and various other less common diseases".The First US Surgeon General's Report in 1964 concluded that cigarette smoking definitely causes lung cancer, and called for action to reduce its toll. Although pipe and cigar smokers were judged to incur lower health risks than cigarette smokers, they were found to have higher rates of cancer and heart disease than nonsmokers.

All of the major findings from those early documents were confirmed and the conclusions extended in 15 major subsequent Smoking and Health report published under the auspices of the US Surgeon General.

Gases account for 60 of the total cigarette smoke. At least nine of the gases have been found in cigarette smoke which are toxic to lung tissue. They are formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, methanol, acetone, methylethyl ketone, ammonia, nitrogen dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide. In addition, hydrogen cyanide 0 - a potent respiratory enzyme poison is found among the gases.Burning at 880 C and under explosive pressure, the nitric and sulphuric acids create: (1) Hydrogen sulfide: H2S, which is a direct union of hydrogen and sulfur vapour at a definite temperature and pressure; (2) Nitrogen dioxide: N02 which is derived by oxidation of nitric acid; (3) Ammonia: NH3, which is used to make nitric acid and nitrocellulose, and is also contained naturally in tobacco during the curing process; (4) Hydrogen cyanide: HCN, which can be derived by catalytically reacting ammonia and air with methane; (5) Methanol: CH3OH, which is derived by high pressure catalytic synthesis from carbon monoxide and hydrogen; (6) Formaldehyde:ECHO, which is a readily polymerizable gas derived from the oxidation of synthetic methanol; (7) Acetaldehyde: CH3CHD, which is derived firstly from the thermal cracking of hydrocarbon gas at between 8000C and 9000C to produce ethylene, and secondarily the oxidation of ethylene; (8) Methylethyl ketone: CH3COCH2CH3, is used as solvent in nitrocellulose coatings, and hence it evaporates during the burning of the cigarette; (9) Acrolein: CR2CHCHO, is derived from the oxidation of propylene, since all processes for thermal cracking of hydrocarbons yield propylene; (lO)Acetone: CH3COCH3, is a byproduct of synthetic glycerol production.Due to its humectant properties, glycerol is sprayed on tobacco before it is processed to prevent crumbling and is added to adhesives and glues to keep tobacco from drying too fast. Unfortunately of its chemical derivatives, the esters of glycerin is readily to react with nitric acid to form nitroglycerin in the manufacture of dynamites.

In summary, of the ten gases outlined above, eight are directly affected by and reacted with nitric acid and sulphuric acid which are impregnated in the standard commercial cigarette. The gases of acrolein and acetone may be considerably reduced in the cigarette-smoke; if nitrocellulose is not employed, and the burning temperature is reduced considerably. The vapours of nitric and sulphuric acids may be the main cause of most health problems associated with cigarette smoking, since nitric and sulphuric acids in high concentration can dissolve human bones.

Liquid particulate matters or the tar consist of 40 of the total cigarette smoke. Tar enters the mouth of the smoker as a concentrated aerosol with millions or billions of microparticles per cubic centimeter. A single cigarette may have from 3 to 40 milligrams of tar. Seven compounds isolated from the particulate phase of cigarette smoke have been shown to be carcinogenic.

Benzoic acid - C6HOOOH, which is used in curing tobacco as a preservative, is readily to react in nitration during the nitrocellulose preparatory stage at elevated temperature with nitric and sulphuric acids to form m-nitrobenzoic acid at room temperature, and the same reaction at elevated temperature gives 3-5-dinitrobenzoic acid. Benzo(a)pyrene and dibenzo(a,i)pyrene are two most potent carcinogens isolated from tar, and are not present in the natural tobacco leaf. Benzo(a)pyrene and dibenzo(a,i)pyrene can be reduced, if the tobacco will not be treated in the nitrocellulose preparatory stage with nitric and sulphuric acids. If the reduced limit is insufficient to declare to be safe, the curing tobacco may need to abandon benzoic acid as a preservative, and a safer preservative can be used instead.

Scientists attribute the overall carcinogenic potency of the gas phase and the tar in the cigarette smoke being many times greater than either the components of the gas phase or the components of the tar. It is confirmed beyond of any doubt that nitric and sulphuric acids are responsible directly and indirectly to enhance greatly the creation of carcinogens in a burning cigarette.

Nicotine does not in itself represent a significant health hazard for most people. Nicotine is metabolized rapidly by man, and the byproducts of its metabolism are not very toxic. Its principle action is to produce stimulating or sedating effects. Pipe and cigar smokes are chemically similar to cigarette smoke, except that the former is alkaline; and this is due to the cigarette paper absorbing nitric and sulphuric acids better than the oily tobacco.

Dr Charles A LeMaistre of the University of Texas System Cancer Center estimated that in the USA alone more than 500,000 deaths are attributable to tobacco use each year. 8% of all lung cancer cases are due to cigarette smoking. Cigarette smoking is also associated with cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, pancreas and bladder.

The invention of the safety cigarette will reduce between 524 and 1004 of the annual death rate and the health problems like lung cancer associated with the nitrocellulose impregnated cigarette smoking. An optimum uniform burning ratio between oxygen and tobacco via an air vent will reduce the risk associated with the intake of excessive carbon monoxide, which is a critical factor in coronary heart disease and foetal growth retardation relating to pipe, cigar and cigarette smoking. The incorporation of oil absorbent section in the safety cigarette will reduce considerably the cancers of oral cavity, pharynx, larynx and esophagus associated with pipe, cigar and cigarette smoking. With the deposable oil absorbent section and deposable filter tip plus an air vent, the safety cigarette is safer than the smoker's pipe and today's cigar.

The invention can be used with shredded tobacco leaf, which do not need the treatment of nitric and sulphuric acids. Since most smokers develop the taste and the favour of acidic tobacco, the cigarette manufacturer can replace the inorganic nitric and sulphuric acids with weak organic fruit-acids like lemon and grape-fruit acids in USA and plum acid in China. Using the modern food processing techniques, between 404 and 70 of the excessive tobacco oil can be removed with a modern pressurised steaming process, and then the tobacco are dried, flue-cured and stored for aging, and finally the weak fruit acids are added to create the favour and taste similar to the existing cigarette.If the modern pressurised steaming process removes the strength of the nicotine, the distilled nicotine from the displaced tobacco oil can be added back near the final stage. Heavy smokers, who smoke the fruit acid based safety cigarette will benefit immediately with the effect similar to quitting inorganic acid based cigarette smoking. For example, the between USt20 billion and Use40 billion United States annual health expenditure spent on cigarette smokers can be reduced immediately. Since between 204 and 70 of each pack of cigarettes are paid as excise tax and sale tax, the extra production costs can be easily absorbed with government agreeing to provide a special tax-rebate to manufacturers of the safety cigarettes.

According to the present invention, there is provided 8 safety cigarette comprising an air vent in the shredded tobacco leaf section, which is coupled to the primary air vent in the oil absorbent section. In the oil absorbent section, the primary air vent along the central axis is in turn coupled to four sets of secondary air vents, which are located perpendicularly to the circumference.

The safety cigarette will now be described, by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which s- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a safety cigarette according to the invention; Figure 2 is a horizontal cross section of a safety cigarette; Figure 3 and figure 7 are the section AA and the side view of a safety cigarette as shown in figure 2; Figure 4 is the section B-B of a safety cigarette as shown in figure 2; Figure 5 is the section CC of a safety cigarette as shown in figure 2; Figure 6 is the side view of a safety cigarette as shown in figure 1.

According to the invention, an elliptical air vent 14 which is located along the central axis of the shredded tobacco leaf section in the cigarette, creates an uniform burning ratio of oxygen and the shredded tobacco leaf 12 as shown in figures 1, 2, 6 and 7. In effect, the elliptical air vent 14 is sandwiched between the shredded tobacco leaf 12 via an inner layer of seed flax paper 10, while an outer layer of seed flax paper 10 is used to roll up the shredded tobacco leaf. The cigarette paper 10 can be made of either seed flax or corn husk. Additional air vents which are located in the oil absorbent section 16 as shown in figures 1, 2, 4 and 5, create a cold air draught via a temperature gradient to feed fresh air to ensure an optimum burning process.The primary air vent 22, which is located along the central axis spanning the length of the oil absorbent section 16 as shown in figures 1, 2, 4 and 5, is coupled to the air vent 14 of the shredded tobacco leaf section 12. The radius of the primal air vent 22 must not be less than the maximum majoraxis of the elliptical air vent 14. The secondary air vents 20 in the oil absorbent section consist of four sets of small holes, locating at 90 degrees in the 360 degree circumference, and spanning the length of the oil absorbent section 16. The secondary air vents 20 are fed perpendicularly to the primary air vent 22.

The material used for the oil absorbent section is a coarse paper to remove the coarse particles and oil. Standard filter tip 18 is also enclosed in the design of the safety cigarette. Two important parameters must be determined experimentally, and they are D in figure 1 and E in figure 7.

D is the optimum length of the primary air vent 22 along the central axis of the oil absorbent section 16, and D governs the optimum coefficient of cold air draught. E is the optimum size of the elliptical air vent 14, and E governs an optimum uniform burning ratio of oxygen and shredded tobacco leaf 12. The invention overcomes the "extinguishing cigarette" phenomenon, and so there is not any requirement to impregnate the cigarette or the tobacco leaf with nitric and sulphuric acids. The invention has the advantages of low production costs and the ease of manufacturing.

Claims (9)

1. A safety cigarette can be used with shredded tobacco leaf, which do not need the treatment of nitric and sulphuric acids to overcome the "extinguishing cigarette" phenomenon. The safety cigarette comprises an air vent in the shredded tobacco leaf section coupled to the air vents in the oil absorbent section.

2. A cigarette according to claim 1 includes an air vent, which is located along the central axis of the cigarette to create an uniform burning ratio of oxygen and shredded tobacco leaf.

3. A cigarette according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which an air vent is sandwiched between the shredded tobacco leaf via an inner layer of seed-flax paper, while an outer layer of seed flax paper is used to roll up the shredded tobacco leaf.

4. A cigarette according to any of claims 1 to 3 in which the optimum size of the elliptical air vent in the shredded tobacco leaf section governs an optimum uniform burning ratio of oxygen and shredded tobacco leaf.

5. A cigarette according to any of claims 1 to 4 in which the primary air vent spanning the central axis of the oil absorbent section is coupled to the air vent of the shredded tobacco leaf section.

6. A cigarette according to any of claims 1 to 5 in which four sets of secondary air vents, locating at 90 de degrees in the 360 degree circumference and spanning the length of the oil absorbent section, are fed perpendicularly to the primary air vent of the oil absorbent section.

7. A cigarette according to any of claims 1 to 6 in which the additional air vents locating in the oil absorbent section create a cold air draught via a temperature gradient to feed fresh air to ensure an optimum burning process.

8. A cigarette according to any of claims 1 to 7 in which the optimum length of the primary air vent along the central axis of the oil absorbent section governs the optimum coefficient of cold air draught.

9. A safety cigarette substantially as described herewith with reference to or as illustrated in any of the Figures of the accompanying drawings.