List of non-tobacco ingredients in cigarette tobacco

[FmGrowit]

This list is courtesy British-American Tobacco Company. It is in no way meant to suggest you use any of these, nor does it suggest these ingredients are in all cigarettes.

The purpose of this post is to capture a physical record of the ingredients used in the manufacture of cigarettes. If you're missing the flavor you've come to expect from your home grown tobacco, some of these ingredients will likely help achieve the taste you're looking for.

Don't let the names of the ingredients scare you...most of them are quite harmless. Locating some of these ingredients might be something of a challenge though.

Ingredient	CAS Number	FEMA	CoE	Function	Maximum Use (mg)	Maximum Use (%)
Acetic acid	64-19-7	2006	2	Flavouring	0.00155	0.00018
Acetoin	513-86-0	2008	749	Flavouring	0.00130	0.00018
Acetophenone	98-86-2	2009	138	Flavouring	0.00146	0.00021
Acetyl pyrazine	22047-25-2	3126	2286	Flavouring	0.00005	0.00001
Ambroxide	3738-00-9 6790-58-5	3471	-	Flavouring	0.00002	0.00001
Apple juice/concentrate	-	-	386	Flavouring	0.06970	0.01204
Apricot extract	68650-44-2	-	368	Flavouring	0.00687	0.00119
Balsam oil, peru	8007-00-9	2117	298	Flavouring	0.03980	0.00418
Benzaldehyde	100-52-7	2127	101	Flavouring	0.00104	0.00012
Benzoin gum sumatra	9000-05-9	2133	439	Flavouring	0.03184	0.00335
Benzyl benzoate	120-51-4	2138	262	Flavouring	0.00203	0.00029
Benzyl butyrate	103-37-7	2140	277	Flavouring	0.00099	0.00012
Benzyl carbinol	60-12-8	2858	68	Flavouring	0.00019	0.00002
Benzyl cinnamate	103-41-3	2142	331	Flavouring	0.00001	0.00001
Buchu leaf oil	68650-46-4	2169	85	Flavouring	0.00093	0.00009
Butyric acid (n-)	107-92-6	2221	5	Flavouring	0.00375	0.00044
Cane sugar extract	90604-30-1	-	-	Flavouring	0.00015	0.00002
Caramel	8028-89-5	2235	-	Flavouring	0.03469	0.00600
Cardamom seed oil	8000-66-6	2241	180	Flavouring	0.00073	0.00008
Carob bean extract	84961-45-5	2243	120	Flavouring	0.11264	0.01946
Carob gum	9000-40-2	2648	120	Flavouring	0.02064	0.00287
Caryophyllene (beta-)	87-44-5	2252	2118	Flavouring	0.01264	0.00176
Cassia bark oil	8007-80-5	2258	131	Flavouring	0.00020	0.00003
Cinnamic acid	621-82-9	2288	22	Flavouring	0.00020	0.00003
Citric acid	77-92-9 5949-29-1	2306	20	Flavouring	0.00010	0.00002
Clary sage oil	8016-63-5 84775-83-7	2321	415	Flavouring	0.00186	0.00021
Cocoa extract	84649-99-0	-	452	Flavouring	0.17397	0.03005
Cocoa powder	95009-22-6	-	452	Flavouring	0.26144	0.02969
Cocoa shell extract	84649-99-0	-	452	Flavouring	0.08310	0.01056
Coffee extract	93348-12-0 68916-18-7 84650-00-0 8001-67-0	-	148	Flavouring	0.00902	0.00099
Coriander seed oil	8008-52-4	2334	154	Flavouring	0.00420	0.00045
Damascenone (beta-)	23726-93-4 23696-85-7	3420	-	Flavouring	0.00093	0.00009
Davana oil	8016-03-3 91844-86-9	2359	69	Flavouring	0.00019	0.00002
Decalactone (delta-)	705-86-2	2361	621	Flavouring	0.00027	0.00004
Diethyl malonate	105-53-3	2375	2106	Flavouring	0.00451	0.00052
Dimethyl-1,2-cyclopentadione (3,4-)	13494-06-9	3268	2234	Flavouring	0.00003	0.00001
Dimethyldihydrofuranolone (2,5-)	3658-77-3	3174	536	Flavouring	0.00127	0.00018
Dimethyl pyrazine (2,5-)	123-32-0	3272	2210	Flavouring	0.00009	0.00001
Ethyl acetate	141-78-6	2414	191	Flavouring	0.00135	0.00019
Ethyl butyrate	105-54-4	2427	264	Flavouring	0.03709	0.00405
Ethyl cinnamate	103-36-6	2430	323	Flavouring	0.00039	0.00006
Ethyl hexanoate	123-66-0	2439	310	Flavouring	0.00322	0.00038
Ethyl-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-(5h)-furanone(5-)	698-10-2	3153	2300	Flavouring	0.00001	0.00001
Ethyl isovalerate	108-64-5	2463	442	Flavouring	0.00495	0.00057
Ethyl maltol	4940-11-8	3487	692	Flavouring	0.00323	0.00038
Ethyl-2-methyl pyrazine (3-)	15707-23-0	3155	548	Flavouring	0.00127	0.00018
Ethyl-3,[5 or 6]-dimethyl pyrazine (2-)	13925-07-0 13360-65-1	3149, 3150	727	Flavouring	0.00029	0.00004
Ethyl salicylate	118-61-6	2458	432	Flavouring	0.00033	0.00004
Fenugreek extract	84625-40-1	2485	460	Flavouring	0.06533	0.01129
Fig extract	-	-	198	Flavouring	0.01334	0.00231
Geraniol	106-24-1	2507	60	Flavouring	0.00011	0.00002
Geranium oil	8000-46-2 90082-51-2	2508	324	Flavouring	0.00065	0.00008
Geranyl butyrate	106-29-6	2512	274	Flavouring	0.00039	0.00006
Glucose	50-99-7 5996-10-1	-	-	Flavouring	0.00311	0.00044
Glucose syrup	8029-43-4 68131-37-3	-	-	Flavouring	0.06319	0.00877
Glycerol	56-81-5	2525	-	Flavouring	0.14443	0.02495
Hexalactone (gamma-)	695-06-7	2556	2254	Flavouring	0.00020	0.00003
Hexanoic acid	142-62-1	2559	9	Flavouring	0.00322	0.00038
Hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone(4-(para-)	5471-51-2	2588	755	Flavouring	0.00005	0.00001
Ionone (beta-)	14901-07-6 79-77-6 8013-90-9	2595	142	Flavouring	0.00002	0.00001
Irone (alpha-)	79-69-6	2597	145	Flavouring	0.00001	0.00001
Isoamyl acetate	123-92-2	2055	214	Flavouring	0.00928	0.00102
Isoamyl isovalerate	659-70-1	2085	458	Flavouring	0.00519	0.00057
Isobutyl phenylacetate	102-13-6	2210	2160	Flavouring	0.00127	0.00018
Isobutyraldehyde	78-84-2	2220	92	Flavouring	0.00349	0.00041
Isobutyric acid	79-31-2	2222	6	Flavouring	0.00196	0.00028
Isovaleric acid	503-74-2	3102	8	Flavouring	0.00519	0.00057
Lactic acid	598-82-3 50-21-5	2611	4	Flavouring	0.12887	0.01487
Licorice extract, fluid	68916-91-6 84775-66-6	2628	218	Flavouring	0.27155	0.04690
Licorice extract, powder	68916-91-6 84775-66-6	2629	218	Flavouring	0.60723	0.07212
Linalool	78-70-6	2635	61	Flavouring	0.00002	0.00001
Linalyl acetate	115-95-7	2636	203	Flavouring	0.00020	0.00003
Lovage extract	8016-31-7	2650	261	Flavouring	0.00060	0.00011
Mace oil	8007-12-3	2653	296	Flavouring	0.00362	0.00038
Maltol	118-71-8	2656	148	Flavouring	0.00410	0.00050
Menthol	89-78-1 2216-51-5 15356-60-2 (D-) 1490-04-6	2665	63	Flavouring	0.08059	0.00841
Methoxy benzaldehyde (para-)	123-11-5	2670	103	Flavouring	0.00002	0.00001
Methoxybenzenemethanol (4-)	105-13-5	2099	66	Flavouring	0.00435	0.00051
Methoxy-3-methyl pyrazine (2 or 5 or 6-)	68378-13-2 2847-30-5	3183	2266	Flavouring	0.00349	0.00041
Methyl butyraldehyde (3-)	590-86-3	2692	94	Flavouring	0.00127	0.00018
Methyl butyric acid (2-)	116-53-0	2695	2002	Flavouring	0.00127	0.00018
Methyl cinnamate	103-26-4	2698	333	Flavouring	0.00322	0.00038
Methyl cyclopentenolone	765-70-8 80-71-7	2700	758	Flavouring	0.00628	0.00109
Methyl pyrazine (2-)	109-08-0	3309	2270	Flavouring	0.00082	0.00008
Methyl-2-pyrrolyl ketone	1072-83-9	3202	-	Flavouring	0.00002	0.00001
Methyl quinoxaline (5-)	13708-12-8	3203	2271	Flavouring	0.00001	0.00001
Molasses, sugar cane	68476-78-8 8052-35-5	-	2100	Flavouring	0.02336	0.00210
Nutmeg oil	8008-45-5	2793	296	Flavouring	0.00186	0.00021
Olibanum oil	8016-36-2	2816	93	Flavouring	0.00002	0.00001
Orange oil, distilled	68606-94-0	2821	143	Flavouring	0.00186	0.00021
Orange oil, sweet	8008-57-9 8028-48-6	2825	143	Flavouring	0.00002	0.00001
Peppermint oil	8006-90-4	2848	282	Flavouring	0.03291	0.00583
Peppermint oil, terpeneless	68606-97-3	2848	282	Flavouring	0.03735	0.00750
Phenethyl isobutyrate	103-48-0	2862	302	Flavouring	0.00003	0.00001
Phenyl acetic acid	103-82-2	2878	672	Flavouring	0.00323	0.00038
Phenylcarbinol	100-51-6	2137	58	Flavouring	0.06319	0.00877
Piperonal	120-57-0	2911	104	Flavouring	0.00663	0.00115
Potassium sorbate	590-00-1	2921	-	Flavouring	0.01264	0.00176
Propylidene phthalide (3-)	17369-59-4	2952	494	Flavouring	0.00001	0.00001
Prune extract	90082-87-4	-	371	Flavouring	0.00829	0.00144
Prune extract, oleoresin	90082-87-4	-	371	Flavouring	0.00590	0.00083
Prune juice/concentrate	90105-94-5	-	371	Flavouring	0.10372	0.01792
Raisin extract	68915-86-6 85594-37-2	-	485	Flavouring	0.00223	0.00025
Sorbitol	50-70-4	3029	-	Flavouring	0.35733	0.03453
Spearmint oil	8008-79-5 84696-51-5	3032	285	Flavouring	0.01779	0.00358
Sugar, invert	8013-17-0	-	-	Flavouring	0.72787	0.07903
Tetramethyl pyrazine (2,3,5,6-)	1124-11-4	3237	734	Flavouring	0.00009	0.00001
Trimethyl pyrazine (2,3,5-)	14667-55-1	3244	735	Flavouring	0.00039	0.00006
Undecalactone (delta-)	710-04-3	3294	688	Flavouring	0.00323	0.00038
Undecalactone (gamma-)	104-67-6	3091	179	Flavouring	0.00146	0.00021
Valerian root extract	8057-49-6 97927-02-1	3099	473	Flavouring	0.00270	0.00025
Valerian root oil	8008-88-6	3100	473	Flavouring	0.00069	0.00008
Vanilla oleoresin	8023-78-7	3106	474	Flavouring	0.00377	0.00042
Vanillin	121-33-5	3107	107	Flavouring	0.04079	0.00443
Veratraldehyde	120-14-9	3109	106	Flavouring	0.00039	0.00006
Ylang ylang oil	8006-81-3	3119	103	Flavouring	0.00002	0.00001

 

[Steve2md]

holy crap! how do they fit tobacco in those smokes!?!?!?!?

 

[johnlee1933]

Interesting.

Question: The "Maximum Use" columns give weight and percentage. I tied to reverse calculate but had no cigarette to weigh. Is it weight per cigarette, pound or what?

John

 

[Chicken]

wow, i had no idea, they used that much,,, flavoring ingredients,

i like my baccy, straight,

 

[leverhead]

I think it's per cigarette.

 

[FmGrowit]

Mg's per cigarette would make sense. You'd have to calculate the number of cigarettes per pound of tobacco and then per ton and multiply that number by the quantity listed for that ingredient to get any sense of quantity used.

This appears to be is a list of all ingredients used in all tobacco products produced by B.A.T. I'd imagine the Sorbbital is used in wet snuff and obviously, menthol would not be used in non-menthol cigarettes.

 

[Chicken]

i wonder if that is the reason a branded cigg. say a marlboro,

has the same taste, because we all know the baccy isnt exactlly the same, each year,

yet the flavour of the cigg. is the same, perhaps the nicotene, comes from the baccy alone, and im sure thru this process any flavorings the baccy may have had, is lost,,,

very informational thread,, this one is

 

[johnlee1933]

OK I did some homework. 1 lb.=453.6gm. The tobacco in a standard 100MM. filtered cig is .9gm. This meant a pound of tobacco is right slose to 500 cigs (2 1/2 cartons). So if we look at menthol (one of the heavier weight additives) we get 500 X .08059=40.29mg.. And menthol is one of the heavier additives.

It seems Don, once again, is correct. For the average small grower these additives are impractical except perhaps as thet impact the health issues.

John

 

[FmGrowit]

i wonder if that is the reason a branded cigg. say a marlboro,

has the same taste, because we all know the baccy isnt exactlly the same, each year,

yet the flavour of the cigg. is the same, perhaps the nicotene, comes from the baccy alone, and im sure thru this process any flavorings the baccy may have had, is lost,,,

very informational thread,, this one is

This is exactly why there is no mention of flavor on any commercial grower site. Flavor has all been bred out of tobacco so the big boys can maintained their brand flavor by introducing it during processing of the cured tobacco. It all goes back to the store bought vs. Home grown tomato analogy.

There is little doubt heirloom varieties will become trendy as big gubmint continues to strangle big baccy. There will be a day in the very near future when most of the above additive will be banned from being used in commercial tobacco sales.

Don't get me wrong...some of these additives can be very leasing on the palate and I'm not suggesting there is anything wrong with using them if you so desire...It's nice to have a steak every now and then between bologna samigges.

 

[SmokeStack]

As a chemist, I find the list of those chemicals intriguing. Isoamyl acetate is essentially synthetic banana oil. Ethyl salicylate is used as synthetic wintergreen oil. Most of the chemicals on the list are synthetic versions of natural flavorings - that is, they are artificial flavorings. You see a lot of them in candy. The synthetic chemicals are stable and have a long shelf life than many naturally derived flavorings. Also, they are much cheaper to make in a lab than to extract natural flavorings from nature. Strange that I use protective gloves and a lab coat to handle some of those chemicals. But phenyl acetic acid (PAA)? Smells like someone has serious body odor issues - as if someone hadn't taken a bath for a month. We had a student in the lab who dropped a small bottle of PAA that shattered. Our lab smelled horrible for several weeks! Well, that's my two cents.

 

[FmGrowit]

Well, that's my two cents.

Sorry, you're not getting out of it that easily.

So is PAA to tobacco flavoring as musk oil is to perfume?

What are the drawbacks of using a natural oil during an extended aging period over using a synthetic equivalent?

What would a rough translation of a synthetic derivative by weight be to natural derivative by weight?...my guess is there isn't one.

Sorry Doc, but this is a community and everyone is expected to contribute their expertise...and not get paid for it ...kind of like communism and Obama-ism...
(sorry...couldn't resist.)

but...I'm still the Dick Tater

 

[FmGrowit]

Oh, and while you're at it...

Can you translate the above synthetic components to the natural ones?

Thanks

 

[Steve2md]

Having a chemist on the board is a nice treat....

 

[SmokeStack]

Well, FmGrowit, I am glad to hear of your interest in chemistry. As far as PAA is concerned, I doubt that it is used as a flavoring unless it is added in near trace amounts. When someone dropped a bottle of PAA in our lab, we could still smell it for weeks later - even after having professional chemical spill specialists clean our lab! But chemicals can take on different odors depending on the amount that's in the air. For example, I had to synthesize isoamyl acetate for a lab experiment. It smells like banana oil when you take a good whiff of it straight from a flask, but, diluted in air, a gentle waft smells like pears.

The drawbacks of using a natural oil during an extended aging period over using a synthetic equivalent are... most (not all) natural products tend to decompose more readily as mother nature tends to produce molecules that are more complex and, thus, more susceptible to alteration. Synthetic compounds are much simpler in comparison and can endure a longer lifespan. So I would imagine that in general the aroma of tobacco flavored with natural products will fade away faster than with their synthetic counterparts, but it may take a few years for this to occur. To avoid this problem, I would add the flavoring to tobacco as the last step - I would flavor it after the aging process. After adding flavorings, you can let the tobacco sit for a month or so to allow the flavors to marry. In my opinion, I would never use synthetics - they just aren't the same - but they are MUCH CHEAPER!

As far as synthetic equivalents, yes - you are right, there are none. Extracts from natural products can vary - it depends on several factors. I worked for a chemical company which extracted pigments from paprika peppers to be used as natural food colorings. Each crop coming from the same seed produced a slightly different color. In fact, the subject of my research was to develop a methodology so that we could get a consistent color. A benefit of using synthetics is that it always gives the same results.

I rarely (pipe) smoke tobacco with flavorings - tobacco produces its own beautiful flavors. But I do formulate a blend using a hint of natural Cypress Tree extract. The extract costs about $80 for 50 mL (about 1.6 ounces!) so it is quite expensive. Most big tobacco companies would never use the extract since you can buy a gallon of the synthetic equivalent for the same price.

The bottom line is... if you want to flavor on a small scale, then use natural products and extracts. All kinds are readily available on the web - just do a Google search - you can find everything from menthol to clove extract, frankincense, etc. I don't think the lifespan is a big issue. Anyway, you would need a special permit to buy some of those chemicals on that list (PAA can be used for manufacturing methamphetamine).

Unfortunately, it all comes down to money!

Have fun experimenting!

Dr. Marco

PS Anyone on the forum is always welcome to PM me with chemistry questions - as long as it pertains to tobacco related issues.

 

[SmokeStack]

FmGrowit, in regards to finding out what type of flavor comes from a certain chemical on that list, go to Wikipedia and do a search for "List of additives in cigarettes." You will find a HUGE list with links.

 

[CoralReefs]

PS Anyone on the forum is always welcome to PM me with chemistry questions - as long as it pertains to tobacco related issues.

Awww.... Here I was getting all excited with other questions...

 

[Chicken]

and i thought that avatar was some random choosing,,

didnt know it was because your a chemist....

and if paa is involved with making meth,,,,, i guess thats why all the addicts stink???

 

[wazzappenning]

phillip morris for the most part shows all their additives

http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/c...Ingredients/Ingredients_By_Brand/default.aspx

here are the flavoring products. they dont do it by brand because its a secret. if you can figure out what goes where youll get the cig youre trying to duplicate

http://www.philipmorrisusa.com/en/c...o_Flavor_Ingredients/default.aspx?src=top_nav

pmi international shows more ingredients, but these could taste different.

http://www.pmi.com/eng/our_products/pages/technical_products_information.aspx

canada isnt on the list... some legal stuff had them sell instead of paying fines (i think it was the smuggling in the 90s). anyway we finally got marlboros, and i find them nothing like the ones in the states (i also had some swiss, mexican, and indonesian ones, none were the same). however, a few years back i noticed that even the duty free ones (which were better than the ones stateside) dont taste any good either. i suspect fsc papers for the most part.

on a side note, i was talking to a cook and mentioned that the american cigarette taste had more to do with sugar, cocoa, and licorice than where the tobacco was from. he answered me that burning sugar is pretty toxic.

 

[deluxestogie]

he answered me that burning sugar is pretty toxic.

Burning sugar is that black crusty stuff on barbecued meat. That's why most barbecue sauces contain quite a bit of sugar.

Bob

 

[Knucklehead]

Guys go to The Tobacco Seed Company website http://www.thetobaccoseed.com/index.html. On the home page third column click on "impurities" or in fourth column click "additives". They list over 600 ingredients found in commercial chemical sticks. The list will make you very angry. Concerning tobacco in cigarettes in 1960 a cigarette contained 2.2 grams of real leaf tobacco. Today a cigarette contains 0.7 grams of real leaf tobacco. Read the list and you'll know what what that other 1.5 grams is. Yuck.
Wallace