Less Harmful Constituents When Heating Tobacco at Lower Temperatures?

Many of the harmful constituents found in the smoke from a conventional cigarette result from the burning of tobacco. Lowering the temperature at which the "smoke" is generated means that nicotine and some aroma compounds are still released, but the user may no longer be exposed to some of the combustion products that are generated by the burning of tobacco and which may contribute to the risk of smoking-related diseases. By measuring the air flow through a tobacco matrix that is heated in a new type of smoking product it may be possible to determine which constituents are released, at which time and at which location.

The research of David Lopez Penha of the University of Twente is an important first step in understanding the physics of smoking.

Lopez Penha has investigated flows in porous media, derived from cast leaf tobacco biomass. He has developed a model that predicts the flow of hot air through this highly complex porous medium. For this purpose the 3-D pore geometry was reconstructed using microCT-scans (micro-Computed Tomography). For the first time, his work provides some insight into the way that air flows through the small pores inside the tobacco plugs: this could open up a new way of determining which substances may be released and at what concentrations, during the flow of air through heated tobacco matrices, according to Science Daily.