Recognizing that natural tobacco has many undesirable
features, such as drying, crumbling, and the nicotine content,
this study investigated the properties of a good smoking
tobacco and attempted to discover a cellulose base
suitable for synthesizing to a smoking product. The review
of available literature furnished suggestions for the construction
of the smoking apparatus used in this study. A
smoking apparatus was constructed and was operated under
conditions similar to those found in the human consumption
of cigarettes. Standards of human consumption were established
and it was found that the average time of consumption
was 10.5 minutes, that there was an average interval
of 50 seconds between successive inhales, and that the
average volume of inhale was 37 c.c. Viscose cellophane
was used as a smoking product in cigarettes. Its burning
properties were improved by packing it in the cigarettes
to an apparent density of 0.381. The burning properties
were further improved by treating the cellophane with a
three per cent solution of KN03. This batch of cigarettes
burned evenly and about half the length of cigarettes
usually smoked, indicating that further experimentation in
treating viscose cellophane with KN03 might produce a smoking
product with ideal burning properties.
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