Smoking article and smoking article filter

Abstract

Improved filters useful for tobacco products, such as cigarettes, and novel cigarettes having such filters are disclosed. The filters include adsorbents such as activated carbon which reduce amounts of one or more gas phase constituents of mainstream tobacco smoke. The adsorbents are treated with off-taste suppressants which reduce the off-taste associated with adsorbent containing filters and substantially restore the taste normally associated with tobacco smoke.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A tobacco cigarette having a filter comprising an adsorbent for at least one gas phase constituent of mainstream smoke and an off-taste suppressant which reduces off-taste resulting from the presence of said adsorbent without functioning as a flavorant that introduces additional flavor into said mainstream smoke.  
     
     
         2 . A cigarette according to  claim 1  wherein said adsorbent comprises activated carbon.  
     
     
         3 . A cigarette according to  claim 2  wherein said off-taste suppressant includes at least one component selected from the group consisting of sugars, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, polyols, amino acids, oligopeptides, polypeptides, alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         4 . A cigarette according to  claim 3  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises fructose.  
     
     
         5 . A cigarette according to  claim 3  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises mannitol.  
     
     
         6 . A cigarette according to  claim 3  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises fructose and mannitol.  
     
     
         7 . A cigarette according to  claim 3  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises fructose and mannitol in about a 1:1 ratio by weight.  
     
     
         8 . A cigarette according to  claim 4 ,  5 ,  6 , or  7  wherein said off-taste suppressant composition comprises an alkali halide salt.  
     
     
         9 . A cigarette according to  claim 8  wherein said alkali halide salt is sodium chloride.  
     
     
         10 . A cigarette according to  claim 8  wherein said alkali halide salt comprises no more than about 5 % by weight of said activated carbon and said off-taste suppressant.  
     
     
         11 . A cigarette according to  claim 3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 , or  7  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises from about 2 to about 40 percent of the total weight of said activated carbon and said off-taste suppressant.  
     
     
         12 . A cigarette according to  claim 3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 , or  7  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises from about 5 to about 25 percent of the total weight of said activated carbon and said off-taste suppressant.  
     
     
         13 . A cigarette according to  claim 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 , or  7  further comprising a chemisorbent ion-exchange resin.  
     
     
         14 . A cigarette according to  claim 8  further comprising a chemisorbent ion-exchange resin.  
     
     
         15 . A cigarette according to  claim 14  wherein said ion-exchange resin is an amine-substituted polystyrene derivative.  
     
     
         16 . A cigarette according to  claim 15  wherein said resin and said carbon are present in an admixture.  
     
     
         17 . A cigarette filter according to  claim 16  wherein said activated carbon and said ion-exchange resin present in a ratio of about 1:3 to about 3:1 by weight.  
     
     
         18 . A tobacco cigarette having a filter comprising an upstream fibrous filter component and a downstream fibrous filter component, said upstream and downstream filter components defining a cavity therebetween, said filter further comprising granular activated carbon in said cavity and a composition on said activated carbon including at least one component selected from the group consisting of sugars, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, polyols, oligopeptides and polypeptides, amino acids and further including at least one salt selected from the group consisting of, alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         19 . A cigarette according to  claim 18  wherein said composition comprises fructose, mannitol and an alkali halide salt.  
     
     
         20 . A cigarette according to  claim 19  wherein said alkali halide salt comprises sodium chloride.  
     
     
         21 . A cigarette according to  claim 18  wherein said composition comprises fructose and mannitol in a ratio of about 1:1 by weight.  
     
     
         22 . A cigarette filter according to  claim 18  wherein said composition comprises fructose, mannitol and sodium chloride in a ration of about 46:46:8 by weight.  
     
     
         23 . A cigarette according to claims  18  wherein said salt comprises from about 0.1% to about 5% of the total weight of said activated carbon and said composition.  
     
     
         24 . A cigarette according to  claim 18  wherein said composition comprises from about 2 to about 40 percent of the total weight of said activated carbon and said composition.  
     
     
         25 . A cigarette according to  claim 18  wherein said composition comprises from about 5 to about 25 percent of the total weight of said activated carbon and said composition.  
     
     
         26 . A cigarette according to  claim 18 ,  19 ,  20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  or  25  further comprising an ion exchange resin in admixture with said activated carbon.  
     
     
         27 . A tobacco cigarette having: 
 a filter comprising: 
 a. an adsorbent for at least one gas phase constituent of mainstream smoke;  
 b. an off-taste suppressant which reduces the off-taste resulting from the presence of said adsorbent, said off-taste suppressant including at least one component selected from the group consisting of sugars, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, polyols, amino acids, oligopeptides, polypeptides, alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts, and combinations thereof; and  
 c. a chemisorbent for at least one gas phase constituent of mainstream smoke.  
   
     
     
         28 . The cigarette of  claim 27  wherein said adsorbent is activated carbon.  
     
     
         29 . The cigarette of  claim 28  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises from about 2 to about 40 percent of the total weight of said activated carbon and off-taste suppressant.  
     
     
         30 . The cigarette of  claim 29  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises from about 5 to about 25 percent of the total weight of said activated carbon and off-taste suppressant.  
     
     
         31 . The cigarette of  claim 28  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises fructose and mannitol.  
     
     
         32 . The cigarette of  claim 31  wherein said off-taste suppressant further comprises sodium chloride.  
     
     
         33 . The cigarette of  claim 31  wherein the ratio of fructose to mannitol is from about 1:3 to 3:1 by weight.  
     
     
         34 . The cigarette of  claim 28  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises an alkali halide salt.  
     
     
         35 . The cigarette of  claim 34  wherein said alkali halide salt comprises from about 0.1 to about 5 percent of the total weight of said activated carbon and said off-taste suppressant.  
     
     
         36 . The cigarette of  claim 28  wherein said chemisorbent is an ion-exchange resin.  
     
     
         37 . The cigarette of  claim 36  wherein said ion-exchange resin is a amine-substituted polystyrene derivative.  
     
     
         38 . The cigarette of  claim 36  wherein said ion-exchange resin comprises from about 25 to about 75 percent of the total weight of said ion-exchange resin and said activated carbon.  
     
     
         39 . The cigarette of  claim 36  wherein said ion-exchange resin comprises about 50% of the total weight of said resin and said activated carbon.  
     
     
         40 . The cigarette of claims  28 ,  29 ,  30 ,  31 ,  32 ,  33 ,  34 ,  35 ,  36 ,  37 ,  38  or  39 , wherein said chemisorbent is present in admixture with said activated carbon.  
     
     
         41 . A cigarette: 
 having a multi-component filter comprising an upstream fibrous filter component and a downstream fibrous filter component, said upstream and downstream filter components defining a filter cavity therebetween; and    a filter material in said cavity comprising 
 activated carbon and an ion exchange resin in a ratio of about 1:3 to about 3:1 by weight; said activated carbon having thereon an off-taste suppressant comprising  
 fructose and mannitol in a ratio from about 1:3 to about 3:1 by weight and in addition sodium chloride, wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises from about 2 to about 40 percent of the total weight of said activated carbon and off-taste suppressant  
   
     
     
         42 . A tobacco cigarette having a filter comprising an activated carbon adsorbent for at least one gas phase constituent of mainstream smoke and an off-taste suppressant on said activated carbon which reduces off-taste resulting from the presence of said adsorbent, said off-taste suppressant comprising at least one component selected from the group of compounds having B, X-B, AH-B or AH-X-B moieties.  
     
     
         43 . A cigarette according to  claim 42  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises at least one component selected from compounds having AH-B or AH-X-B moieties.  
     
     
         44 . A cigarette according to  claim 43  wherein said compounds having AH-B or AH-X-B moieties are selected from the group consisting of sugars, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, polyols, amino acids, oligopeptides, polypeptides and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         45 . A cigarette according to  claim 44  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises fructose.  
     
     
         46 . A cigarette according to  claim 45  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises mannitol.  
     
     
         47 . A cigarette according to  claim 44  wherein said off-taste suppressant comprises fructose and mannitol.  
     
     
         48 . A cigarette according to  claim 42  wherein said off-taste suppressant further comprises at least one component selected from alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         49 . A cigarette according to claims  42 ,  43 ,  44 ,  45 ,  46 ,  47  or  48 , wherein said filter further comprises a chemisorbent selected from the group consisting of ion-exchange resins in admixture with said activated carbon adsorbent.  
     
     
         50 . A cigarette according to  claim 49  wherein said activated carbon and said ion-exchange resin are present in a ratio of from about 1:3 to about 3:1 by weight carbon to resin.