Abstract
This report presents the results of a study regarding the transfer of maleic hydrazide (MH) into mainstream cigarette smoke. Cigarettes with different levels of MH were used in this study. This included cigarettes with MH preexistent in the tobacco due to the agronomical practice, and with spiked MH. Because the MH can be present in tobacco as bound and free forms, both levels of MH were measured in the tobacco section. The cigarette designs covered a range of possibilities, including Plain, Filter King Size (KS), Lights 100’s, Ultra Lights, etc. The results showed that the amount of MH in smoke, on the one hand, is a function of the total particulate matter (TPM) of the cigarette, and higher TPM levels lead to more MH in smoke. On the other hand, the transferred level of MH depends on the total amount of MH (both bound and free) in the tobacco. The relative % transfer is higher for lower MH levels than for higher MH levels in tobacco. When normalized by TPM, the transfer as an average is about 0.24% per mg of TPM from the amount of MH in 1 g of tobacco, and as high as 0.46% per mg of TPM from the amount of MH in 1 g tobacco for a nonfilter low MH level cigarette. The resulting MH transfer for a nonfilter cigarette with low tobacco MH is therefore about 8.3% from the total MH in the cigarette. For filter full flavor (FF) cigarettes with high tobacco levels of MH, the transfer is about 5.8%. This relative transfer rate appears to be lower from higher MH levels in tobacco.