do thin cigarettes burn at a higher trate when dragged? Or does a cylinder of tobacco, equal in volume to the cylinder in a normal cigarette, burn at the same rate?
cuz if they burn faster, they would burn hotter, right? and wouldn’t that mean a cut in tar and CO?
jb
Assuming the drag is of the same force, the suction through a smaller diametre tube would be greater resulting in a hotter burn. As to wether or not that reduces the toxins, I dunno - consult a chemist because whatever is burned still ends up in your lungs. (Keep in mind the source of the suction)
What is the connection between your post and the subject line?
Cigar experts that I have consulted always insist that the larger ring sizes of cigars (Churchills etc.) smoke cooler. The smaller coal does not tend to grow as much when you drag on the smoke.
I would also tend to think that a hotter burning smoke will produce more tars and nicotine. This is due to more complete breakdown of the ingredients that a cooler burning smoke would not release (as in partial combustion).
dewt, “You’ve come a long way, baby” was the advertising slogan for Virginia Slims cigarettes.
Higher rate? You ever try one of those things? I don’t even know what the point is. The thinner cross-section creates much more resistance to air flow. In addition they have very tightly packed filters, worsening matters considerably. You have to pull much harder. IMHO, too hard. Maybe there’d be more aeration of the burning tip, but the higher resistance to airflow works to against aeration.
In my limited experience, they burn at the same rate. But that’s in terms of length per unit time. Remember that each inch of one of those girlie things has much less tobacco than a manly marlboro or camel. So one inch of a regla’ cig can generate more smoke
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I think the lack of tobacco and the presence of a filter from hell are the biggest determinants of the low tar and CO production. If the hotter burn notion were correct, however, I do believe there’d be less CO and tar emission.
Zenster- I’m pretty sure that higher temperatures result in cleaner burned byproducts. Like with spontaneous combustion, where low temp burning produces volatile hydrocarbons, that start to burn at higher temperatures, releasing less volatile materials that burn at higher temps, etc. Also, I think a catalytic converter cleans exhaust by reducing the temperature necessary for more complete burning. I could be wrong.
And hey, all. What is the deal with lower-tar cigarettes? I used to think it was about the tobacco, treated a la decaffeinated coffee. But the more i’ve smoked lights, the mroe I’ve thought it’s all about the filter. Anybody got the straight?
jb
AS far as I can tell, the difference between Reds and Marlboro lights is the length of the filter. The lights have a longer one. If the smoke has to go further, less gets through. There are probably filters that are packed more tightly as well. Again, same idea, the smoke has to pass more filter fibers before getting a shot at the respiratory epithelia of the inimitable JB Farley.