Fast Monitoring of Tobacco Aroma Compounds and Additives

Cigarette retail values in 2014 were worth over US$700 billion and over 5.6 trillion cigarettes were sold to more than one billion smokers worldwide. Tobacco and cigarettes belong to the world’s most important convenience goods and sophisticated quality control regarding several aspects is a must. In a most recent application study it was shown that the FlavourSpec instrument of G.A.S. can give very detailed information on the headspace-composition. It was possible to demonstrate how the tobacco-flavour compounds migrate to the packaging material and to the cigarette filter material. Furthermore identification of a humidifying agent, which is added to keep a defined moisture level in the tobacco in order to extend the product shelf life, could be determined. Adding too much of the agent can induce an undesired smell of the product.