Comparison of the Yield of Very Low Nicotine Content Cigarettes to the Top 100 United States Brand Styles

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.