Effects of the grade/price and thickness of cigarette on the PM2.5 concentration of smoke

In an attempt to promote sales of high-grade/price and slim cigarettes with lower tar and nicotine content, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) also known as the China National Tobacco Corporation (CNTC), whose monopoly controls all aspects of tobacco production, marketing, and distribution in China, have advertised them as safe cigarettes that cause less tobacco smoke pollution (TSP). However, cigarette smoke contains thousands of harmful components, and the effects of only tar and nicotine cannot be used to represent TSP. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of cigarette grade/price and size on TSP by measuring PM2.5 concentrations for three different grades/prices and two sizes of popular cigarettes in China. The results showed that cigarette grade/price did not significantly affect PM2.5 levels in regular (R) or slim (S) cigarettes in either sidestream or mainstream smoke. However, cigarette size had a significant effect on PM2.5 levels, with R cigarette PM2.5 being 116% higher than S cigarette PM2.5 in sidestream smoke. In mainstream smoke, this difference decreased to 31%, although R-cigarette PM2.5 levels remained higher. While S cigarette PM2.5 levels were lower than those of R cigarettes, this did not necessarily mean that S cigarettes were less harmful. The harmfulness of smoke is not only manifested in PM2.5 but also in other particulate matter such as PM10 and PM1.0. At the same time, it is also affected by smoking habits. Therefore, further experiments are required to evaluate the potential harmfulness of S cigarettes.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the impact of cigarette grade/price and size on tobacco smoke pollution. The results showed that cigarette grade and price did not significantly affect PM2.5 levels, but cigarette size had a significant effect. However, the evaluation of cigarette safety cannot solely rely on tar and nicotine, and further research on other harmful substances and smoking habits is needed.