TSNA levels in machine-generated mainstream cigarette smoke: 35years of data

•We gathered 35years of published data of NNK and NNN levels in cigarette smoke.•We augmented these data with internal, unpublished data from Philip Morris USA Inc.•The data suggest TSNA levels have not increased in cigarette smoke over time.•The data suggest TSNA levels have declined in cigarette smoke over the past 10years. This paper characterizes historical and current tobacco specific nitrosamine (TSNA) levels in mainstream (MS) cigarette smoke of US commercial cigarettes. To conduct this analysis, we gathered 35years of published data of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and N-nitrosonornicotine (NNN) levels in MS cigarette smoke. We also assessed internal data of MS smoke NNK and NNN levels generated from various market monitoring initiatives and from control cigarettes used in a multi-year program for testing cigarette ingredients. In all, we analyzed machine smoking data from 401 cigarette samples representing a wide range of products and design characteristics from multiple manufacturers and market leaders. There was no indication that TSNA levels systematically increased in cigarette MS smoke over the 35-year analysis period. In particular, TSNA levels expressed as either per cigarette or normalized for tar suggest a downward trend in MS smoke over the past 10years. The apparent downward trend in TSNA levels in MS smoke may reflect industry and agricultural community efforts to reduce levels of TSNAs in tobacco and cigarette smoke.