Cigarette ingredients

The ingredients used in some cigarettes are the subject of much debate and are often misunderstood.

What are ingredients?

Ingredients have been added to tobacco since the 16th century. For example, Spanish sailors are believed to have added liquorice to tobacco as a preservative.

Ingredients added to tobacco products are not the same as smoke constituents. Ingredients are added during manufacturing and have a specific function in the final product. Smoke constituents are formed by the burning of the product.

Why are ingredients used?

Food-type ingredients and flavourings are added to balance the natural tobacco taste, to replace sugars lost in the curing process and to give individual brands their characteristic flavour and aroma. Other ingredients have technological functions such as controlling moisture, protecting against microbial degradation, affecting burn rates and acting as binders or fillers.

Excerpted from www.bat.com