A standard cigarette have four basic components:
- The tobacco rod
- The cigarette paper
- The tipping paper
- The filter
When the tobacco rod is lit, the user inhales smoke through the filter.
The preferences of adult smokers guide the types and blends of tobaccos that we use in the tobacco rod. We do not add nicotine to our tobacco; it occurs naturally in all varieties of tobacco plants.
Food-type ingredients and flavourings are added to some types of cigarettes – typically American style blends – to balance the natural tobacco taste, replace sugars lost in curing and give individual brands their characteristic tobacco flavour and aroma. Other ingredients may control moisture, protect against microbial degradation and act as binders or fillers.
Filters are traditionally made from cellulose acetate fibres, known as tow. Recent innovations include flavour capsules in filters and tube filters. The filter, paper and type of filter are all chosen to affect the sensory strength and smoke yield of the cigarette.
Nicotine
Read more about nicotine on our Group website.
Why do cigarettes pose serious health risks?
The reason why cigarettes can be harmful to health is because burning tobacco generates toxicants in the smoke that is produced. Inhaling these smoke toxicants is the cause of most smoking-related diseases.
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