Effectiveness of a new device to retain carcinogenic compounds of tar frommainstream cigarette smoke for the prevention of smoking-associated tumors

Purpose: Effectiveness of a new device inserted within the common cellulose acetate cigarette filter (named hypobaric chamber tar-removing system, HCT RS) to remove tar and its carcinogenic compounds from mainstream cigarette smoke (MCS). Methods: Eighty HCTRS prototypes were mounted inside the cellu lose acetate filter of commercial-brand cigarettes (13 mg tar) and smoked b y eighty smoker volunteers. Tar retained by HCTRS prototypes was determined by weighing them before and after smoking. Subsequently, an aliquot (3-5 m g) of the tar retained by twenty randomly chosen HCTRS prototypes was analy sed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the detection of p olycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Results. The mean value of tar retai ned was 12.80 mg/HCTRS prototype (S.D. = 5.31), thus showing that this simp le device is capable of removing 98.5% of tar present in MCS. Minimal and m aximal amounts of retained tar were 4.15 and 31.47 mg/HCTRS prototype respe ctively. Moreover, these tar samples contained, although in differing amoun ts, each of the 16 priority pollutant PAH. A mean value of 259.42 ng/mg of tar (S.E.M. = 44.37) of the 16 main PAH was found in the tar of the 20 HCTR S prototypes examined. These data cogently demonstrate that the use of the HCTRS prototype can effectively eliminate about 100% of tar from MCS, thus reducing the inhalation of PAH (considered the most obvious carcinogenic ta r components). Conclusions: The application of this device could be a suita ble tool for effectively improving human health through the prevention of s moking-associated cancer.