Reduced risk tobacco products and use thereof

Abstract

Reduced risk tobacco-related products and methods of use. These tobacco-related products (e.g., cigarettes or filters) are designed to reduce the biological insult, for example, DSBs, cell death or perturbation of RNA transcriptome or proteome as compared to the amount of biological insult induced by another cigarette, such as a conventional or reference cigarette (e.g., 2R4F), in human cells, and to provide a reduced risk cigarette that meets a cigarette smoker's sensory/perception needs.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cigarette comprising a blend of cured tobacco, wherein said blend comprises a Burley tobacco in an amount greater than about 50% by weight based on the combined weight of the blend of cured tobacco, wherein the cigarette is configured to produce a mainstream smoke that generates fewer DNA double strand breaks (DNA DSBs) in human cells than the mainstream smoke from a reference cigarette under the same smoking conditions. 
     
     
         2 . The cigarette of  claim 1 , wherein the Burley tobacco is present in an amount of 85-92% by weight based on the combined weight of the blend of cured tobacco. 
     
     
         3 . The cigarette of  claim 1 , further comprising a filter that comprises a carbon. 
     
     
         4 . The cigarette of  claim 2 , further comprising a filter that comprises a carbon. 
     
     
         5 . The cigarette of  claim 3 , wherein said filter comprises about 30-100 mg of the carbon. 
     
     
         6 . The cigarette of  claim 4 , wherein said filter comprises about 30-100 mg of the carbon. 
     
     
         7 . The cigarette of  claim 5 , wherein said carbon is an activated carbon having an activity of 50-60. 
     
     
         8 . The cigarette of  claim 6 , wherein said carbon is an activated carbon having an activity of 50-60. 
     
     
         9 . The cigarette of  claim 7 , wherein said activated carbon is TA95. 
     
     
         10 . The cigarette of  claim 8 , wherein said activated carbon is TA95. 
     
     
         11 . The cigarette of  claim 5 , wherein said filter comprises a carbon that has a total pore volume of 0.1 mL/g to 0.9 mL/g. 
     
     
         12 . The cigarette of  claim 6 , wherein said filter comprises a carbon that has a total pore volume of 0.1 mL/g to 0.9 mL/g. 
     
     
         13 . The cigarette of  claim 11 , wherein said total pore volume is from about 0.4 mL/g to 0.7 mL/g. 
     
     
         14 . The cigarette of  claim 12 , wherein said total pore volume is from about 0.4 mL/g to 0.7 mL/g. 
     
     
         15 . The cigarette of  claim 5 , wherein said filter further comprises sepiolite. 
     
     
         16 . The cigarette of  claim 6 , wherein said filter further comprises sepiolite. 
     
     
         17 . The cigarette of  claim 5 , further comprising a filter that comprises a weak base amine-containing resin. 
     
     
         18 . The cigarette of  claim 6 , further comprising a filter that comprises a weak base amine-containing resin. 
     
     
         19 . The cigarette of  claim 17 , wherein the ratio of said carbon to said weak base amine-containing resin in said filter is from about 1:1 to 4:1. 
     
     
         20 . The cigarette of  claim 18 , wherein the ratio of said carbon to said weak base amine-containing resin in said filter is from about 1:1 to 4:1. 
     
     
         21 . The cigarette of  claim 17 , wherein said filter comprises about 10-50 mg of the weak base amine-containing resin. 
     
     
         22 . The cigarette of  claim 18 , wherein said filter comprises about 10-50 mg of the weak base amine-containing resin. 
     
     
         23 . The cigarette of  claim 21 , wherein said a weak base amine-containing resin contains at least or equal to about 1.3-1.5% nitrogen atoms (N) in the form of amine functional groups. 
     
     
         24 . The cigarette of  claim 22 , wherein said a weak base amine-containing resin contains at least or equal to about 1.3-1.5% nitrogen atoms (N) in the form of amine functional groups. 
     
     
         25 . A method of reducing the induction of DNA double strand breaks (DNA DSBs) in cells that contact cigarette smoke comprising providing the cigarette of  claim 1  to a human that smokes said cigarette. 
     
     
         26 . A method of gradually reducing the exposure of a tobacco user to a toxicant that induces DNA double strand breaks (DNA DSBs) comprising:
 identifying the tobacco user to receive a gradual reduction in exposure to a toxicant that induces DNA DSBs in human cells;   replacing a cigarette consumed by said identified tobacco user with a first cigarette for a predetermined length of time, wherein said first cigarette comprises a first cigarette filter that comprises a carbon or a weak base amine-containing resin;   replacing the first cigarette with a second cigarette after said predetermined length of time, wherein said second cigarette comprises a second cigarette filter that comprises a carbon, or a weak base amine containing resin, wherein said second cigarette filter is configured to retain a greater amount of the toxicant that induces DNA DSBs in human cells than said first cigarette filter.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the predetermined length of time is about 3-6 weeks. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26  further comprising:
 replacing the second cigarette after a second predetermined length of time with a third cigarette, 
 wherein said third cigarette comprises a third cigarette filter that comprises a carbon or a weak base amine-containing resin, wherein said third cigarette filter is capable of retaining a greater amount of the toxicant that induces DNA DSBs in human cells than said second cigarette filter. 
 
     
     
         29 . A cigarette filter comprising a carbon that has a total pore volume of from about 0.1 mL/g to about 0.9 mL/g in the cigarette filter. 
     
     
         30 . The cigarette filter of  claim 29 , wherein said total pore volume is from about 0.4 mL/g to about 0.7 mL/g. 
     
     
         31 . The cigarette filter of  claim 29 , further comprising a weak base amine-containing resin. 
     
     
         32 . The cigarette filter of  claim 31 , wherein the ratio of said carbon to said weak base amine-containing resin in said filter is from about 1:1 to 4:1. 
     
     
         33 . The cigarette filter of  claim 29 , wherein said cigarette filter comprises about 30-100 mg of carbon. 
     
     
         34 . The cigarette filter of  claim 31 , wherein said filter further comprises about 10-50 mg of weak base amine-containing resin. 
     
     
         35 . The cigarette filter of  claim 34 , wherein said weak base amine-containing resin contains at least or equal to about 1.3-1.5 nitrogen atoms (N) in the form of amine functional groups. 
     
     
         36 . The cigarette filter of  claim 29 , wherein said carbon is an activated carbon having an activity of 50-60. 
     
     
         37 . The cigarette filter of  claim 29 , wherein said filter further comprises sepiolite. 
     
     
         38 . The cigarette filter of  claim 36 , wherein said activated carbon is TA95.