Up to 20% of a cigarette tobacco blend can be comprised of reconstituted tobacco, most commonly slurry-type RT. The addition of the commodity into the blend lowers production cost without greatly affecting the product’s aroma qualities.
And since recon generally also has a very stable nicotine content when compared to conventional rag, its addition to a blend helps adjust the nicotine level across production batches.
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But recon might attain even more crucial importance in the near future, once the USFDA’s dreaded rule that all cigarettes sold in the US must have “minimally addictive” nicotine levels comes into effect. Star Agritech International’s Efe Abdullahoğlu says there “is absolutely no doubt that cigarette companies are going to increase the RT proportion in their blends to achieve the compulsory ‘minimally addictive’ nicotine level. They practically have no other choice.”
But he also points out that not all RT types are suitable to be used at a substitution level of more than 20%. Nanofiber RT, on the other hand, he says, is perfect for exactly that purpose because it imparts more aroma and flavor than other recon types thanks to it comprising of about 70% high-quality tobacco-leaf-derived fines.
And because water dilution during its production generally gives recon a lower nicotine level than tobacco rag, nanofiber RT can “adjust down” a cigarette’s nicotine content so it becomes FDA-compliant.