ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
Department of Chemical Engineering
80626 Maslak - Istanbul
TURKEY





The Applicant Establishment: Antinicotea Filtreli Ağızlık Ticaret
Date and Number of Application: 20 July 1998
Deanship Number: 4914
 
REPORT
   According to the application request of the establishment Antinicotea Filtreli Ağızlık Ticaret (Antinicotea Cigarette - holders and filters manufacturer), it has been conceived and realized by ourselves the experiment described below:
1. It has been supplied from the market 11 pieces of original cigarette holder packages with its filters belonging to the above denominated establishment.
2. The 11 pieces of cigarette holders and filters, next to their filling with the silicate substance with white colour and after being desiccated in the steamroom and being chilled in the desiccator, have been weighed and, in this state, have been assembled to the cigarette holders.
3. With these cigarette holders have been furnished again from the market 11 cigarette packs, (each pack containing 20 cigarettes) with various brands originated from Turkey or from abroad and have been delivered to 11 test subjects and within a manner which may be qualified "Normal Smoking Conditions", have been ensured their smoking and their consumption by these test subjects within a period of 8 hours.
4. Next to the consummation of the smoking operation, the cigarette holders have been collected and it has been observed that the upper parts and the inner parts of the filter-tips are covered with a bituminous and brown coloured nicotine-tar deposit. It is doubtless that this brown substance which is retained and absorbed from the cigarette smoke by the filters by way of straining and filtering, is a composition of condensable organic elements existing in the cigarette smoke, extremely harmful to the human health.
5. Next to this process, in order to determine the quantity of the substance retained from the cigarette smoke by the filters assembled with the cigarette-holders, the filters have been reweighed utilizing the same balance.
According to the smoked cigarette brand, the retained quantities of nicotine-tar deposit from the cigarette smoke have been displayed on the following tabular list:
 
The brand of the smoked cigarette
The first weight of the filters before smoking (gr)
The last weight of the filter afer smoking (gr)
The quantity of the retained substance from the cigarette smoke (mgr)
Camel Light
1.2361
1.3210
85
Camel
1.2078
1.3068
99
Tekel 2000
1.2379
1.5703
332
Rothmans
1.2475
1.4355
188
Marlboro Light
1.2746
1.3466
72
Marlboro
1.2304
1.3322
92
Davidoff
1.2208
1.3430
122
Gitanes
1.2470
1.6390
392
Dunhill
1.2212
1.5192
298
Samsun
1.1991
1.4557
257
Maltepe
1.2147
1.3735
159
In this tabular list the figure relevant to the cigarette with the brand Gitanes is especially important because on each pack of cigarette with the brand Gitanes (containing 20 cigarettes) is written that is contains a total of 240 mgr.(12 x 20) tar and 18 mgr.(0,9 x 20 ) nicotine. Being obvious that from this brand of cigarette has been retained and absorbed totally 392 mgr. of tar, nicotine and other mass. This quantity exceeding 134 mgr. from the total tar + nicotine which amounts to 258 mgr. (240+18) mentioned as the content of the pack, it is quite certain that the cigarette-holder strains, filters, retains and absorbs some other existing substances within the cigarette smoke.
6. Next to this process, it has been studied and examined the dissolution state of this substance retained from the cigarette smoke inside various dissolvents which enable to dissolve various organic substances as fats, oil-paint, lacquered substances, wax, paraffine, some resins and resinous substances and similar various organic elements. It has been noticed that there is a very few dissolution inside the petrolic ether and the diethyl ether and next to tis process, it remains there an insouble borwn mass.When this process is reiterated inside the acetone and ethyl alcohol, it is observed there a quite good dissolution and there is obtained a light brown solution but, despite the solution, there remains again an insouble dark brown mass.
7. As noticed in the above tabular list, the filter of the afore mentioned establishment are absorbing and retaining the substance qualified cigarette tar from the cigarette smoke in various proportions, according to the kind of the smoked cigarette and according to its quantity of condensability; in other terms, from the cigarettes which have hard smoking potency, they absorb and retain much more and from those which have soft one, they absorb lesser. In this manner it is quite manifest that the substances which are penetrating with the cigarette smoke in the body of the smokers who are addicted to smoke and whose destructive harm is emphasized in any occasion by the Medical World and Medical Authorities, are rarefied next to the utilization by the smokers of these filters (namely these cigarette holders) which are pertaining to this afore mentioned establishment.
8. As agreed as well by all the Health and Medical Authorities, it is doubtless that this nicotine-tar which is difficultly dissolved even in the organic dissolvents and whose major important quantity remains insoluble, is extremely harmful to the human health and human body.
 
CONSEQUENCE
   The cigarette holders and filters manufactured and sold by the applicant Establishment Antinicotea firm ensure that should the smoking be less hamfull to the human health by means of straining and absorbing inside the filter the major quantity of the condensable substances existing in the cigarette smoke which have a harmful character and effect to the human health. Thus, compared with the persons who are smoking without these filters less nicotine-tar is penetrating to the body of the smokers who are smoking by these filters.
Prof.Dr.Dursun Şaşmaz
Signature And Department Seal
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