A comprehensive evaluation of the toxicology of cigarette ingredients: aliphatic carbonyl compounds

Abstract

Context: Aliphatic carbonyl compounds are used as ingredients in cigarette tobacco or cigarette filters.

Objective: A battery of tests was used to compare toxicity of mainstream smoke from experimental cigarettes containing 15 aliphatic carbonyl compounds that were added individually to experimental cigarettes at three different levels.

Materials and methods: Smoke from experimental and control cigarettes were evaluated using analytical chemistry, in vitro cytotoxicity (neutral red uptake), and mutagenicity (five bacterial strains) studies. For one compound, glycerol triacetate (GTA), two 90-day inhalation studies were also performed, using different inclusion levels into either tobacco or cigarette filter.

Results: Several smoke constituent concentrations were reduced with the highest inclusion level of GTA in tobacco; incorporation of GTA into the filter, and the other compounds into tobacco, produced effectively no changes. Cytotoxicity was reduced by the highest inclusion of GTA into tobacco for both gas–vapor and particulate phases of smoke; incorporation of GTA into the filter, and the other compounds into tobacco, showed no changes. Mutagenicity was reduced by the middle and high inclusion levels of GTA into tobacco (TA1537 strain with S9); incorporation of GTA into the filter, and the other compounds into tobacco, showed no changes.

Conclusion: Inclusion of GTA in tobacco at 100,000 ppm reduced the biological effects of the smoke in the various test systems reported in this study, although inclusion into the filter did not appear to have any major effect on the endpoints studied. The other 14 aliphatic carbonyl compounds that were tested lacked a toxicological response.

Keywords::

• cigarette ingredients
• aliphatic carbonyl compounds compounds
• smoke chemistry
• in-vitro and in-vivo toxicology

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the study directors at the IITRI and at Philip Morris Research Laboratories, as well as Mark A. Higuchi, Stephanie U. Knighten, Ranulfo Lemus, and Lisa M. Merriman. The authors also acknowledge the editorial assistance of Eileen Y. Ivasauskas of Accuwrit Inc. The authors thank Lonnie T. Rimmer for his work in preparing the supplemental material.

Declaration of interest

Dr. C.R.E. Coggins is a consultant for Altria Client Services and as such was compensated for his contribution to this work.