Toxicological Evaluation of Honey as an Ingredient Added to Cigarette Tobacco

Abstract

A tiered testing strategy has been developed to evaluate the potential for new ingredients, tobacco processes, and technological developments to increase or reduce the biological activity that results from burning tobacco. In the manufacture of cigarettes, honey is used as a casing ingredient to impart both aroma and taste. The primary objective of this document is to summarize and interpret chemical and toxicological studies that have been conducted to evaluate the potential impact of honey on the biological activity of either mainstream cigarette smoke or cigarette smoke condensate. As part of ongoing stewardship efforts, cigarettes produced with honey (5% wet weight) as an alternative to invert sugar in tobacco casing material were subjected to extensive evaluation. Principal components of this evaluation were a determination of selected mainstream smoke constituent yields, Ames assay, sister chromatid exchange assay in Chinese hamster ovary cells, a 30-wk dermal tumor promotion evaluation of cigarette smoke condensate in SENCAR mice, and a 13-wk inhalation study of cigarette smoke in Sprague-Dawley rats. Comparative analytical evaluations demonstrated that the substitution of honey for invert sugar as a casing material in cigarettes had no significant impact on mainstream smoke chemistry. In addition, in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that cigarettes containing tobacco cased with honey had comparable biological activity to cigarettes containing invert sugar. Collectively, these data demonstrate that the use of honey as an alternative casing material in the manufacture of cigarettes does not alter the potential toxicity of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) or cigarette smoke; therefore the use of honey as an ingredient added to cigarette tobacco is acceptable from a toxicological perspective.

Insights from a multi-year program designed to test the impact of ingredients on mainstream cigarette smoke toxicity

“…In 2002, Paschke et al prepared a comprehensive literature review of published scientific studies of the effects of tobacco product ingredients on cigarette smoke constituents and biological activity. Additionally, Philip Morris, USA, and other major tobacco manufacturers have published on the toxicology testing of various individual ingredients and mixtures of ingredients added to cigarettes in peer-reviewed journals (Gaworski et al, 1998(Gaworski et al, , 1999(Gaworski et al, , 2007(Gaworski et al, , 2010Carmines, 2002;Heck et al, 2002;Roemer et al, 2002; Stavanja et al, 2003Stavanja et al, , 2008Baker and Bishop, 2004;Renne et al, 2006;Lemus et al, 2007;Heck, 2010;Potts et al, 2010).…”

A comprehensive evaluation of the toxicology of cigarette ingredients: carbohydrates and natural products

“…HY was tested (Stavanja et al, 2003) in a detailed analysis with multiple toxicological endpoints (smoke chemistry determinations, Salmonella mutagenicity testing, sister chromatid exchange, mouse skin painting study, 90-day rodent inhalation study); the study used an inclusion level of 5% (wet weight). Based upon their results, they concluded that addition of honey was acceptable from a toxicological perspective (Stavanja et al, 2003).…”

Tabakzusatzstoffe in Zigaretten – Verwendungszweck und Gefahrenpotential

“…Aus den Studien der Tabakindustrie geht oft hervor, dass Additive in Zigaretten die Toxizität nicht erhöhen (Baker et al, 2004;Heck et al, 2002;Carmines, 2002Carmines, und 2004Gaworski et al, 1997;Gaworski et al, 1999;Rodgman, 2003;Roemer et al, 2002;Rustemeier et al, 2002;Stavanja et al, 2003;Vanscheeuwijck et al, 2002;Wayne und Conolly, 2002). Es ist jedoch nicht auszuschließen, dass nur eine einseitige Auswahl der Studienergebnisse stattÞ ndet.…”