Determination of Humectants in Tobacco Filler by High Performance Chromatography/Single Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

Glycerol, and 1,2-propylene glycol are the humectants most commonly used by the tobacco industry. They are found in a variety of tobacco products and are often present at high levels (~2-5 % w/w). While humectants are generally considered safe, they may serve as precursors in the formation of harmful carbonyl compounds. A selective, precise, and sensitive method for the quantification of several humectants in cigarette filler was developed. The method's sample clean-up is a two-step process consisting of a mechanical extraction, followed by solid phase extraction. Individual humectants are separated, identified, and measured using liquid chromatography coupled to a single quadrupole mass spectrometer as the detector (LC/MS). Detection limits were 0.105, 0.575, and 0.039 mg/cigarette for glycerol, 1,2-propylene glycol and triethylene glycol, respectively. The quantification range for these analytes was 0.4-75.0 mg/cigarette. Twenty-seven brands of domestic commercial cigarettes were evaluated to assess typical levels of humectants in the tobacco filler.