Overview
ISO/TR 19478-2:2015 - “ISO and Health Canada intense smoking parameters - Part 2” extends the analysis in ISO/TR 19478‑1:2014 to identify and assess factors that contribute to variability when measuring cigarette smoke yields under more intense machine-smoking regimens. The Technical Report focuses on how increasing puffing intensity from the ISO 3308:2000 regime to the Health Canada Intense (HCI) regime (T‑115) affects routine measurement of TPM (total particulate matter), NFDPM (nicotine free dry particulate matter / “tar”), nicotine, water, and carbon monoxide. It also examines how differences in smoking-machine design (rotary vs. linear) and sampling/collection zones influence reproducibility.
Key technical topics and requirements
- Smoking regimens and definitions: comparison of the ISO regime (35 ml, 2 s, every 60 s) and the HCI regime (55 ml, 2 s, every 30 s with filter ventilation blocked), plus related regimes (Massachusetts, Option B).
- Measurement endpoints: TPM, NFDPM (tar), nicotine, water content and CO yields under increased puff volume/frequency.
- Sources of variability: puff‑by‑puff smoke temperature and yield changes, cigarette coal behavior, effects of ventilation blocking, and reductions in total burn time (ΔT).
- Machine design differences: analysis of rotary (carousel) vs linear smoking machines, covering three functional zones - cigarette zone, smoke collection zone (CFH/CFP connections), and puff generator - and how each zone can affect condensate collection and measurement.
- Laboratory practice implications: factors in sample collection (Cambridge Filter Holder/Pad), equipment coupling, and procedural elements described in Annex C and the supporting bibliography.
- Statistical considerations: reproducibility and inter-laboratory variability when combining data from different machine types and smoking regimes.
Practical applications and who uses this TR
- Tobacco testing laboratories validating machine-smoking methods and assessing reproducibility when adopting more intense regimes (HCI/T‑115).
- Regulatory bodies (national health agencies, WHO/TobLabNet) using standardized evidence to compare emissions.
- Smoking-machine manufacturers and test-equipment suppliers designing or calibrating rotary and linear smoking machines.
- Tobacco product researchers conducting controlled emissions studies, method development, and inter-laboratory comparisons.
- Quality assurance teams implementing routine measurement protocols for TPM, NFDPM, nicotine, water and CO yields.
Related standards and references
- ISO/TR 19478‑1:2014 - Results of an international machine smoking study (basis for Part 2 analysis)
- ISO 3308:2000 - Routine analytical cigarette‑smoking machine (ISO regime)
- Health Canada Method T‑115 - Health Canada Intense (HCI) regime
- ISO/TR 17219:2013 - Related WHO correlation work referenced in the Introduction
Keywords: ISO/TR 19478‑2:2015, Health Canada Intense, HCI, ISO 3308, TPM, NFDPM, nicotine yields, smoking machines, rotary vs linear, cigarette emissions, reproducibility, machine smoking.