Abstract

A collaborative study among 20 participating laboratories was conducted in an effort to publish a recommended method for determination of phenols in mainstream cigarette smoke. The study was conducted using 10 test samples including reference cigarettes and commercial products from various regions (ISO 3308 total particulate matter 1–16 mg/cig) smoked under two regimes (ISO 3308 and ISO 20778). Health Canada method T-114 was chosen as a basis for the analytical methodology and therefore mainstream cigarette smoke was trapped on 44-mm glass fiber filter pads which were subsequently extracted with 1% aqueous acetic acid for analysis by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Statistical analysis was carried out following ISO 5725 to generate repeatability (r) and reproducibility (R) data for results from linear and rotary smoking. For reproducibility (R) expressed as a percentage of mean yield across all of the studied products and both smoking regimes, values ranged from 17–150%. The lowest “tar” yielding products had the most variable data. Results trended as expected for total particulate matter, blend type, regime, and relative analyte yields. Results supporting a robust method for hydroquinone, resorcinol, catechol, phenol, o-cresol, m-cresol, and p-cresol are reported herein and support establishment of CRM 78, ISO 23904 and ISO 23905 standardized methods. [Contrib. Tob. Nicotine Res. 32 (2023) 18–25]