Assessment of major carcinogens and alkaloids in the tobacco and mainstream smoke of USSR cigarettes.

Tobacco and mainstream smoke of USSR cigarettes were analyzed for carcinogens. The pH values of suspensions of the tobacco (5.4-5.6) and the nitrate content of the tobaccos (0.4-1.7%) were as expected for flue-cured and sun-cured tobaccos and mixtures thereof. The nicotine levels of the cigarette tobaccos (0.76-0.94%) and total alkaloid content (0.85-1.08%) were relatively low compared with tobaccos used in Western European and US cigarettes. The concentrations of tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines in the cigarette tobaccos were also low (N'-nitrosonornicotine 0.36-0.85 microgram/g) compared with those in bright, oriental and blended cigarette tobaccos in Western countries (0.3-19 microgram/g). The 2 non-filter and 4 filter cigarettes from the USSR had slow burning rates and yielded 14.0-16.7 puffs/cigarette, while puff yields for commercial cigarettes in Western countries average less than or equal to 11 puffs/cigarette. Consequently, tar and benzo(a)pyrene yields in the smoke of all cigarettes as well as nitrosamine yields were high, especially in the smoke of the filter cigarettes. It appears that an increase in the burning rates of these cigarettes should lead to lower smoke yields.