Abstract
The objective of this work was to compare the nicotine content and yield of new very low nicotine content cigarettes (VLN™) to the top 100 cigarette brand styles in the United States. Nicotine in tobacco filler and nicotine in smoke were measured. On a dry weight basis, VLN™ cigarettes averaged 0.5 mg of nicotine/g tobacco as compared to 19.4 for the top 100 brand styles in the United States. On a cigarette basis, VLN™ cigarettes contained 0.27 mg of nicotine compared to 12 mg for the top brands. On an ISO smoke yield basis, VLN™ produced 0.03 mg nicotine/cig compared to 0.903 mg nicotine/cig for the leading brands. VLN™ cigarettes contained > 95% less nicotine on a per gram basis of tobacco or per cigarette basis than the top 100 brand styles in the U.S. VLN™ cigarettes yielded > 95% less nicotine in smoke than the top brand styles in the United States.