Smoke of cigarettes without menthol. Part 2

December 13, 2010

Initially clauses 9 and 10 of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control have provided prohibition of use of ingredients that influence increase of cigarettes' attractiveness, especially for youth. It implied prohibition of various flavors - fruit, confectionery, spicy - during tobacco products manufacturing and both like additives to tobacco and in filters, paper and so on. The problem is that working group that deals with elaboration of documents within convention framework, interprets document's provisions maximally wide, prohibiting to use on all stages of manufacturing process any flavored ingredients that are not tobacco.

According to expert's words during manufacturing of cigarettes off nicotinic tobacco sorts such as Burley and Oriental, technologically treatment with ingredients that fall under black list is necessary. At this almost all cigarettes that are present on markets of many countries are made with the help of so called "American mixture" (American blend) where the main ingredient is Burley sort. If ban on flavors' use will come into force, after some time all these manufacturers will have to pass to "English mixture" (in base is sort Finest Virginia) that according to market specialists opinion doesn't correspond to traditional flavor preferences of smokers.

In spite of the fact that in some types of cigarettes during manufacturing process are added such ingredients as sugar and sweeteners, these additives don't create sweet or artificially sweet flavor of smoke and don’t mask tobacco taste. In large major of cases certain ingredients of nutritional type are added in tobacco in microscopic doses to compensate natural sugar that tobacco loses during drying. Also sauces are used to keep humidity in cigarettes and secure keeping of main flavor qualities. Use of these ingredients is solely technologic moment but not aim to make cigarettes attractive for minors or increase factor of tobacco dependence.

Experts consider that ban of additional ingredients use in cigarettes will not decrease or reduce to zero attractiveness of tobacco products. There are data that allow with high likelihood ratio consider that such ban will not lead to decrease of smoking people.

The main effect of flavored tobacco ban will be of not reach countries like Zimbabwe and Malawi one third of which economy make profits from Burley tobacco export. Farmers will not be able to start growing other tobacco sorts because of specific peculiarities of various tobacco sorts' cultivation.