Application of Tenax Trapping to Analysis of Gas Phase Organic Compounds in Ultra-Low Tar Cigarette Smoke

A method well suited to the analysis of gas phase organic compounds in ultra-low tar delivery cigarette smoke has been developed. The cigarette is smoked directly through a filter and a Tenax trap arranged in series. The components collected on Tenax are analyzed by thermal-desorption programmed-temperature gas chromatography. Components are then quantitated by the use of external standards. The smoke from high tar delivery cigarettes also can be analyzed by thermal desorption gas chromatography of portions of well mixed solid dilutions of the trapping Tenax. Deliveries of 34 gas phase components were determined for 4 ultra-low tar cigarettes having tar deliveries ranging from <0.01 to 3 mg tar/cigarette, and 24 components for 5 cigarettes delivering 7 to 45 mg tar/cigarette.