The present invention relates to the use of a tobacco flavoring agent that softens the unpleasant or irritating odor during smoking and provides a mild flavor by being deposited on tobacco during smoking.
The tar and nicotine contained in tobacco smoke determine the flavor intensity of tobacco, its irritancy, and the degree to which it is harmful. As used herein, the term "tobacco smoke" refers to both primary and secondary smoke, and the term "flavor or the like" refers both to the flavor or taste of the primary smoke inhaled directly by the smoker and to the secondary smoke inhaled by the people nearby.
In view of this, tobacco flavoring agents are commercially available for lowering the tar or nicotine content of tobacco smoke, whereby the nicotine smell or other unpleasant or irritating odors generated during smoking are softened, the flavor enjoyed by the smoker is improved, and the impact on the people nearby is reduced.
Tobacco flavoring agents comprise powders that are deposited on the tips of tobacco products during smoking and are allowed to burn together with the tobacco. Components of such agents commonly include ascorbic acid, whose reducing action lowers the nicotine or tar content and softens the flavor, and comfrey powder for reducing the nicotine smell and softening the flavor through the action of chlorophyll. Further to improve the taste, the components used sometimes include menthol to afford a sensation of freshness, and vanillin to create a sweet aroma.
The flavor created by the conventional tobacco flavoring agents is limited, however, to merely softening the nicotine smell or irritating odor or additionally providing a refreshing sensation with menthol or creating a sweet aroma with vanillin, thus significantly narrowing the ranges of possible flavors and failing to adequately meet the diversified demands of contemporary smokers.
An object of the present invention, which is aimed at overcoming the shortcomings of prior art, is to provide a use of a tobacco flavoring agent for reducing the tar or nicotine content of tobacco smoke, thereby reducing the nicotine smell and other unpleasant or irritating odors during smoking and improving the flavor, wherein this tobacco flavoring agent is capable of a heretofore unobtainable original flavor; and also to provide a tobacco in which this tobacco flavoring agent is used more efficiently.
As a result of extensive research into additives that can be blended with tobacco flavoring agents in such a way that the flavor afforded by the tobacco flavoring agents complements the inherent aroma of the tobacco and provides both the smokers themselves and the people nearby with an original aroma, the inventor perfected the tobacco flavoring agent of the present invention upon discovering that adding citrus is effective for this purpose. The inventor also developed a tobacco product containing the tobacco flavoring agent of the present invention upon discovering that, as a preferable embodiment of this tobacco flavoring agent, the effect of the tobacco flavoring agent can be further enhanced by mixing the tobacco flavoring agent with tobacco leaves and dispersing
the components rather than depositing the flavoring agent on the tip of the tobacco product.
The present invention provides the use of a tobacco flavoring agent as defined in claim 1.
The present invention will now be described in detail.
Here, the ascorbic acid and the salts or isomers thereof are used to reduce the content of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke in the same manner as in the case of conventional tobacco flavoring agents, thereby softening the nicotine smell and other unpleasant or irritating odors during smoking. Examples of ascorbic acid and salts or isomers thereof include D- and L-ascorbic acids, sodium salts thereof, and other salts, of which L-ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is preferable for use.
The chlorophyll-containing materials are used in order to soften the unpleasant odor of tobacco, and particularly to eliminate the nicotine smell and to soften the flavor, by the action of the chlorophyll. Various chlorophyll-containing powders or liquids can be used as such chlorophyll-containing materials. It is possible to use comfrey, chlorella, chlorophyll, and the like in the form of powders, pastes, or liquids. Of these, comfrey powder is preferred because it improves the adhesion of the tobacco flavoring agent to the tobacco in addition to providing excellent deodorization. In addition, chlorella powder is preferred from the standpoint of color coordination and stability.
Various aromatic plants can optionally be used as herbs, of which lavender and rosemary are preferred from because the resulting tobacco flavoring agent exudes durable fragrance during smoking or storage. In addition, a single herb may be used, or a plurality of them may be used together.
The properties of the herbs are not subject to any particular limitations, and powders, oils, extracts, or the like may be used. In particular, pulverized products are preferred because they allow the powder properties of the entire tobacco flavoring agent to be improved. In addition, when oils, extracts, or other liquid products are used, they should preferably be allowed to impregnate lecithin or another powdered substrate in advance.
Various components may be admixed as needed in addition to the aforementioned components into the tobacco flavoring agent of the present invention. For example, menthol, vanillin, and the like can be admixed in order to afford a sensation of freshness or a sweet aroma to the flavor. Stevia or the like can be admixed in order to impart sweetness. Fatty acids (stearic acid, oleic acid, and the like), boric acid, and the like can be admixed in order to fix volatile nicotine and to facilitate tar decomposition at high temperatures. Malic acid, citric acid, or the like can be admixed in order to facilitate the formation of nicotine organic acid salts, to reduce the amount of volatile free nicotine, to promote the conversion of nicotine to nicotinic acid during burning, and to soften the irritating odor during smoking. Lecithin or the like can be admixed in order to improve powder properties. In addition, potassium nitrate or the like can be admixed as a combustion aid during tobacco lighting. It is also possible to admix lactose, maltose, vegetable oils and fats, Chinese matrimony vine, glycyrrhizin, Sasa albo-marginata, licorice, Ganoderma lucidum Karst, arrowroot leaves, and various other components.
The ratios in which the components are admixed into the tobacco flavoring agent can be appropriately set depending on the type, properties, and other parameters of the components being admixed. Under ordinary conditions, the ascorbic acid or salts or isomers thereof should be used preferably in an amount of 5-15 wt%, and more preferably 8-10 wt%. When in the form of powders, the chlorophyll-containing materials should be used preferably in an amount of 10-20 wt%, and more preferably 14-18 wt%. In addition, when the herbs are used as powders, their amount is preferably 3-8 wt%, and more preferably 5-8 wt%.
The tobacco flavoring agent can also be obtained by grinding and mixing the components into a powder as needed.
Meanwhile, the tobacco flavoring agent used in the present invention involves the use of citrus.
This yields an original mild flavor in which the citrus fragrance is blended with the inherent aroma of tobacco.
The properties of citrus are not subject to any particular limitations, and powders, oils, extracts, or the like may be used. In particular, pulverized products are preferred because they allow the powder properties of the entire tobacco flavoring agent to be improved. In addition, when oils, extracts, or other liquid products are used, they should preferably be allowed to impregnate lecithin or another powdered substrate in advance.
Furthermore, the types of citrus are not subject to any particular limitations and include lemon, lime, citron, orange, sudachi, kabosu, tangerine, Japanese summer orange, ponkan, iyokan, hassaku, kumquat, bitter orange, and pomelo(shaddock). Lemon is particularly preferred. Of lemon parts, ground lemon rind is preferred.
The ratio in which citrus is admixed can be appropriately set depending on the type or properties of the citrus to be admixed. For example, 20-30 wt% should preferably be admixed when lemon powder is used.
Components other than citrus can be admixed into the used tobacco flavoring agent in the manner (in terms of types and mixing ratios of the components) as described above.
The tobacco flavoring agent used in the present invention is characterized by containing solely citrus, but the agent also include embodiments containing both herbs and citrus.
The tobacco flavoring agent used in the present invention is used deposited on the lighting tip of a cigarette.
In a cigarette with one unit weight of about 1 g, the tobacco flavoring agent is deposited in an amount of 1-50 mg, and preferably 1-10 mg, on the lighting tip of the cigarette and burned together with the cigarette.
Of flavored tobacco products, those in the form of cigarettes are used because the end user can easily inhale tobacco smoke by performing operations identical to those performed when handling conventional cigarettes devoid of tobacco flavoring agents.
The present invention will now be described in detail on the basis of its examples.
Components were mixed in the mixing ratios shown in Table 1, yielding powdered tobacco flavoring agents.
The tobacco flavoring agents of Working Examples 1 and 2 as well as Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were each deposited in an amount of 6 mg on the tip of a tobacco product ("Peace"), the tobacco product was lighted, and the flavor was organoleptically evaluated. In addition, a tobacco product on which no tobacco flavoring agent had been deposited was lighted as Comparative Example 3 (blank), and the flavor thereof was organoleptically evaluated. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.
Tobacco products were suctioned at a suctioning rate of about 3 minutes per cigarette from the side opposite the lighted side, and the nicotinic acid in the suctioned gas (primary smoke) was absorbed by a nicotinic acid absorbent solution (1 N sodium hydroxide) in cases in which the tobacco flavoring agents of Working Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were each deposited in an amount of 6 mg on the tips of tobacco products ("Peace"), and the tobacco products were lighted, and in a case in which a tobacco product on which no tobacco flavoring agent had been deposited was lighted as Comparative Example 3 (blank). Such nicotinic acid absorption was performed for 20 tobacco products, and the nicotinic acid content of the nicotinic acid absorption solution was determined by the bioassay method according to the guidelines for food and sanitation inspection under the supervision of the Environmental Health Bureau of the Welfare Ministry.
The results are shown in Table 1. These results indicate that in comparison with the case (Comparative Example 3) in which smoking was performed without the use of a tobacco flavoring agent, the use of the tobacco flavoring agents of Working Examples 1 and 2 had increased the content of nicotinic acid in primary smoke by a factor of about 1.6, and the biologically hazardous nicotine contained in the primary smoke had been efficiently converted to nicotinic acid. In addition, a comparison between the results of Working Examples 1 and 2 and the results of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 indicates that the lavender powder, rosemary powder, or lemon powder admixed in the Working Examples in order to obtain an original flavor did not impede the efficiency with which the tobacco flavoring agents converted nicotine to nicotinic acid.
Inhaled gas (primary smoke) was suctioned via a glass-fiber filter from the side opposite the lighted side and absorbed by an absorbent solution in cases in which the tobacco flavoring agents of Working Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were each deposited in an amount of 6 mg on the tips of tobacco products ("Peace"), and the tobacco products were lighted, and in a case in which a tobacco product on which no tobacco flavoring agent had been deposited was lighted as Comparative Example 3 (blank). The glass-fiber filters were washed with the absorbent solution when a section of tobacco extending over a distance of 1 cm from the tip had been consumed, and when a section of tobacco extending over a distance of 1 to 4 cm from the tip had been consumed. The glass-fiber filters were dried, and the increase in the weight of these glass-fiber filters was termed the tar content.
The results are shown in Table 1. This table shows three tar contents; (i) the tar content resulting from the consumption of the section extending 1 cm from the tip, (ii) the tar content resulting from the consumption of the section extending 1 to 4 cm from the tip, and (iii) the combined tar content ((i)+(ii)).
The results indicate that using the tobacco flavoring agents of Working Examples 1 and 2 reduced the tar content of primary smoke by about 20% in comparison with smoking in which no tobacco flavoring agents were used (Comparative Example 3). In addition, a comparison between the results of Working Examples 1 and 2 and the results of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 indicates that the lavender powder, rosemary powder, or lemon powder admixed in the Working Examples in order to obtain an original flavor did not impede the efficiency with which the tobacco flavoring agents reduced the tar content of the primary smoke.
Notes to Table 1
*1 Comfrey powder, manufactured by Takasago Yakuhin KK
*2 Lavender powder, manufactured by Matsumoto Koryo KK
*3 Rosemary powder, manufactured by Matsumoto Koryo KK
*4 Lemon powder, manufactured by Matsumoto Koryo KK
*5 Vanillin, manufactured by Matsumoto Koryo KK
*6 Stevia, manufactured by Dainippon Ink Co.,Ltd.
*7 Lecithin, manufactured by Maruki Honpo KK
*8 Potassium nitrate, manufactured by Otsuka Chemical Co., Ltd.
Tobacco flavoring agents were prepared in the same manner as in Working Examples 1 and 2 except that the comfrey powder (manufactured by Takasago Yakuhin KK) used in the amount of 1.4 weight parts during the preparation of the tobacco flavoring agents of Working Examples 1 and 2 was replaced with 1.2 weight parts of a chlorella powder (manufactured by Nihon Chlorella KK), yielding the tobacco flavoring agents of Working Examples 3 and 4.
The tobacco flavoring agents of Working Examples 3 and 4 were used in the same manner as in Working Examples 1 and 2 to organoleptically test the flavor, to measure the nicotinic acid content of primary smoke, and to measure the tar content of primary smoke. According to the results, the flavor was an original herb flavor (Working Example 3) or lemon flavor (Working Example 4) in which the nicotine smell or irritating odor was suppressed in the same manner as in Working Examples 1 and 2, respectively; the tar content was much lower than when smoking was performed without the use of a tobacco flavoring agent (Comparative Example 3); and the content of nicotinic acid was higher.
The used tobacco flavoring agent of the present invention lowers the content of tar or nicotine in tobacco smoke, making it possible to obtain a tobacco flavoring agent that yields an original flavor and softens the nicotine smell and other unpleasant or irritating odors during smoking. In addition, the used flavored tobacco of the present invention makes it easier to smoke a tobacco in which the tobacco flavoring agent of the present invention is utilized with higher efficiency.
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