Yields of tar and other smoke components from UK cigarettes

Since 1972, regular six-monthly surveys of cigarettes on sale in the UK have determined the yields of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in mainstream smoke. During 1983-1990, a series of special studies investigated the yields of a range of additional analytes and their inter-relationships with the routinely monitored components. The results for total cyanide (as hydrogen cyanide), total aldehydes (including acetaldehyde), acrolein, formaldehyde and nitrogen monoxide are summarized, and the full data for six low-molecular weight phenols and three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are reported. It is concluded that with the exception of nitrogen monoxide, which is strongly dependent upon the type of tobacco, and the delivery of some phenols and PAHs, which may be affected to a minor extent by the design of cigarette, the three routinely monitored smoke components provide an adequate guide to the yields of the other analytes examined, across the range of manufactured cigarettes available in the UK in the 1980s.