US3339558A - Smoking article and filter therefor containing vitamin a - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 5, 1967 N. J. WATERBURY 3,339,558

. SMOKING ARTICLEAND FILTER THEREFOR CONTAINING VITAMIN A Filed Oct. 28, 1966 IN VENTOR N ELSON J. WATERBU RY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,339,558 SMOKING ARTICLE AND FILTER THEREFOR CONTAINING VITAMIN A Nelson J. Waterbury, Palm Beach, Fla., assignor of fivetenths to F. Barry Haskett, Ocean City, NJ. Filed Oct. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 590,392 2 Claims. (Cl. 13110.1)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method and/or filter cigarette for introducing vitamin A into the mouth and respiratory tract of a smoker which consists of disposing a rupturable capsule in th mouth end of a cigarette having a filtering medium Wherein said rupturable capsule Will contain a controlled amount of vitamin A in solution, applying pressure to said rupturable capsule to break the same immediately before smoking thereby releasing the vitamin A for exposure to the smoke passing through said filtering medium, so that after the cigarette is lit and suction applied thereto tiny droplets or an aerosol of said vitamin A Will be carried in the smoke to the respiratory tract of the smoker.

The present invention relates to smoking articles provided with a filtering means and more particularly to a filter useful in smoking articles. The invention is particularly applicable to filter cigarettes.

In recent years there has been considerable research conducted throughout the world with respect to the relationship between cigarette smoking and various diseases such as lung cancer, throat cancer, emphysema and heart trouble. This research and study has culminated in the recent United States Surgeon-Generals Report which indicates a definite correlation between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

Considerable research has also been conducted in an attempt to isolate and determine the nature of the ingredient in the smoke of cigarettes and other smoking articles which causes these ailments. It has been determined that there are a great number of carcinogenic substances in the smoke of tobacco, the most notable of these being 3,4-benzopyrene.

Attempts to isolate this material and similar carcinogenic materials found in the smoke of tobacco and remove these materials therefrom have not been successful enough to bring a safer cigarette to the public market. These attempts have included various methods of treating the tobacco while growing, and after it has been prepared for use in a smoking article so as to isolate and eliminate the harmful constituents. Such attempts, however, have not been successfully adopted in that such treatment cannot efiectively remove a substantial portion of the carcinogenic materials because of the inability of such treating methods to effectively isolate these materials.

Previous attempts to filter out the carcinogenic material from cigarette smoke or the smoke from similar smoking articles have been completely unsuccessful since no adequate filtering means has yet been devised which can effectively eliminate these materials without simultaneously removing, to an appreciable extent, the desirable aroma and taste of the cigarette smoke.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a filter cigarette which allows for the introduction of vitamin A into the respiratory tract of a smoker in the form of tiny droplets or an'aerosol. The vitamin A in the form of an aqueous solution is incorporated in a controlled amount in a rupturable capsule in the mouth end of a filter cigarette so that immediately prior to smoking the capsule may be ruptured by slight pressure exerted by the fingers of the smoker whereby when the cigarette is lit and suction applied thereto by the smoker, the smoke passing through the filtering medium carries the vitamin A in the form of tiny droplets or an aerosol into the respiratory tract of the smoker. Since vitamin A is one of the known materials for the maintenance of good health (especially with regard to the epithelial tissue), the present invention provides another mode of introducing into individuals this valuable material.

It is therefore, a principal object of the present inven tion to provide a method and/ or filter cigarette for introducing vitamin A into the mouth and respiratory tract of the smoker.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cigarette or similar smoking article and a filtering means therefor which contain vitamin A.

A still further embodiment of the present invention comprises the incorporation of vitamin A as a dispersion of fine droplets or vapor Within the filtering medium of a filter cigarette.

Yet a further embodiment of the present invention comprises the employment of a rupturable capsule Within the filter or tobacco of the cigarette which rupturable capsule releases vitamin A upon slight pressure exerted by the fingers of the smoker.

Still further objects and advantages of the smoking article of the present invention, and filter therefor, will become more apparent from the following more detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a smoking article, i.e.,

a filter cigarette, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a filter cigarette in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing in cross section the filtering element of the filter cigarette of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a filter cigarette illustrating a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing in cross section the filtering element of the filter cigarette of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a filter cigarette showing a further embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a further cross-sectional view showing a cigarette illustrating a further embodiment of the present invention.

In all of the figures, like numerals represent like elements. I

FIG. 1 represents a filter cigarette 1 embodying a filtering device in accordance with the present invention. While this figure illustrates a filter cigarette, it is important to note that the present invention is not limited thereto but is suitably applicable to the filtering of the smoke of cigars, pipes and similar smoking articles.

In addition, while this figure illustrates a filter cigarette having a filtering element, in accordance with the present invention, attached thereto, it is to be understood that the present invention is suitably applicable to the incorporation of the filtering element into a holder or similar attachment for use in the filtering of smoke of a cigarette or similar smoking article.

The filter cigarette 1 is shown in cross section in FIG. 2. This figure illustrates the now-familiar filter-tip cigarette including a burnable paper wrapping or casing 3, a filling or smoke-producing material, e.g.,tobacco 5, and a filter tip at the mouth end comprising a filter casing or tippingpaper 7 and the filtering material 9. The filtering material 9 can comprise any of the standard materials now employed in the filtering of cigarettes and similar smoking articles. Thus the filtering material can comprise wadded cotton or rolled gauze, rolled, crimped cellulose sheet material, a matrix of charcoal or glass fibers, or a synthetic resinous material capable of entrapping the deleterious solid particles in the tobacco smoke. Dispersed within the filtering material 9 are tiny droplets 11 of vitamin A which material is uniformly dispersed throughout the filtering medium 9. In this manner, when the smoke produced by the burning of the tobacco within the burnable paper wrapping or casing 3 passes through the filter medium 9, such smoke will pick up the tiny droplets or an aerosol of vitamin A and carry them out of the filter of the cigarette to the smoker. The vitamin A will therefore pass with the smoke in the form of tiny droplets or an aerosol into the respiratory tract of the smoker.

Thus, there has been provided a new and unobvious method and/or filter cigarette for introducing vitamin A into the mouth and respiratory tract of a smoker with a view of providing another mode of introducing this valuable material into the respiratory tract of an individual.

In FIG. 3 the filtering element of the present invention is shown in enlarged cross section. The droplets or an aerosol of vitamin A 11, dispersed within the filter medium 9, are of such a size that they are easily entrained by the smoke of the burning tobacco passing through the filtering element. While such a filtering element is shown in FIG. 2 as forming the mouth portion of a conventional filter cigarette, it should be noted that the filtering element may be advantageously employed as a separate filtering element in a holder for a cigarette, cigar or similar smoking article. In addition, the filtering element can be advantageously employed as a separate filtering element located in the body portion of a pipe. In all instances the smoke produced from the burning tobacco passing through the filtering element entrains the droplets of vitamin A 11, dispersed within the filter medium 9, such that the vitamin A is carried to the smoker along with the smoke.

An additional embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 4 which again shows a filtering device attached as the mouth portion of a conventional filter cigarette. The vitamin A within the filter medium 90f the filtering element is not dispersed as tiny droplets within the filter medium 9 but is encapsulated in liquid or vapor form within arupturable capsule 13 located within the filter medium 9. Therupturable capsule 13 containing the vitamin A is located within the filtering element in such a manner that the capsule can be easily ruptured upon the application of slight pressure. Such pressure can be easily supplied by the smoker prior to smoking the cigarette. Therupturable capsule 13 can be any organic material such as sugar, egg white, or a thin-walled plastic material which can be easily ruptured by the application of slight pressure. Exemplary materials include, for example, gelatin, polyethylene plastic, natural or synthetic rubber, or any other suitable material capable of rupturing by the application of slight pressure. Thevitamin A 15 is maintained within therupturable capsule 13 either in the liquid or vapor form, the liquid form being preferred. The vitamin A may also occur as the ure material or may be employed as an aqueous solution located within therupturable capsule 13. The term solution as used herein means solutions which are clear, show no dispersion visible to the naked eye, and remain so indefinitely. This type of vitamin A aqueous solution e.g. oil-water solution of vitamin A is fully illustrated in U.S. Patent 2,417,299 issued Mar. 11, 1947. When an aqueous solution of the vitamin A is employed, the water which is released upon the rupturing of thecapsule 13 additionally aids in moisturizing the smoke which is produced from the burning tobacco. In addition to vitamin A, it is important to note that various other additional ingredients can be incorporated within the rupturable capsule to add further desirable properties to the smoke produced. Thus, for example, additional health-benefitting vitamins as well as flavorants such as menthol or chlorophyll can be advantageously maintained within therupturable capsule 13 along with the vitamin A of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows the filtering element of FIG. 4 in enlarged cross section. Here again, while the filtering element is shown in FIG. 4 as the mouth portion of a conventional cigarette, it should be known that such filtering element can be advantageously employed also as an independent filtering element to be located within a holder for a cigarette or cigar or can be employed as an independent filtering element located within the body of a pipe or similar tobacco-smoking article.

In addition, While the rupturable capsule orcontainer 13 has been shown as a single large rupturable container or capsule within the filtering medium of FIGS. 4 and 5, the vitamin A and other materials can be conveniently encapsulated within a number of smaller rupturable capsules or containers located within the filtering medium. In addition, such a rupturable container or capsule containing the vitamin A can be conveniently located within the tobacco portion of a cigarette or cigar should it be desired to obtain the benefits of the entrainment of the vitamin A within the smoke produced from the burning tobacco without the aid of a filtering medium. When the rupturable container orcapsule 13 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is ruptured by slight pressure exerted by the fingers of the smoker, the liquid or vaporous vitamin A is released and dispersed throughout the filtering medium 9. In this way, the smoke produced from the burning of the tobacco of the cigarette or other tobacco-smoking article entrains the dispersed vitamin A as the smoke passes through the filtering element. In this manner the vitamin A is taken along with the smoke into the lungs and other organs of the smoker.

An alternative embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 6. In this embodiment,small capsules 17 of vitamin A are located on the inner face of the filter casing or tippingpaper 7. The wall material of thecapsules 17 can be prepared from the same material as set forth in FIGS. 4 and 5 for the rupturable container orcapsule 13. Thesetiny capsules 17 containing vitamin A again are rupturable and the vitamin A is released upon slight pressure exerted by the smoker. When the vitamin A located within thesmall capsules 17 is released, it disperses throughout the filtering medium 11 in such a manner that it is easily entrained by the smoke from the burning tobacco which passes through the filtering element.

A still further embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7. Here a smoking article such as a cigarette or cigar contains a fine dispersion 19 of vitamin A throughout thetobacco medium 5 of the cigarette or cigar. In this manner Vitamin A can be entrained in the smoke produced from the burning tobacco in the same manner as it could be entrained when employed as a dispersion within the filtering medium of a filter cigarette. This embodiment, therefore, allows for the obtaining of the beneficial results associated with the intake of vitamin A without the necessity of the employment of a filter to be used with a cigarette, cigar or other similar smoking article. While the present invention has been described primarily with respect to the incorporation of vitamin A as a dispersion, or encapsulated, within a filtering element to be employed with a tobacco-smoking article or as a dispersion, or encapsulated, within the tobacco medium itself of such a tobacco-smoking article, it is noted at this time that a treatment of growing tobacco or cut tobacco prior to the manufacturing of the cigarettes or other smoking article with vitamin A will also add beneficial effects to the cigarettes or other smoking articles thus produced.

While the present invention has been described primarily with respect to certain preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is in no Way to be deemed as limited thereto, but should be construed as broadly as all or any equivalents thereof.

Having adequately described the present invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

1. A method for introducing vitamin A into the mouth and respiratory tract of a smoker which comprises locating a rupturable capsule in the mouth end of a cigarette having a tobacco charge and a filter medium downstream from said tobacco charge, said rupturable capsule being in contact with said filter medium and containing a controlled amount of vitamin A in an aqueous solution, applying pressure to said rupturable capsule to break the capsule immediately before smoking thereby releasing the vitamin A solution for exposure to the smoke passing through the said filter medium so that after the cigarette is lit and suction applied thereto, tiny droplets or an aerosol of said vitamin A will be carried in the smoke to the respiratory tract of the smoker.

2. A filter cigarette for introducing vitamin A into the mouth and respiratory tract of a smoker comprising a tubular wrapper having a tobacco charge at one end thereof, a fibrous filtering medium within the wrapper and at the mouth end of the said cigarette downstream from the tobacco, said filtering medium having disposed within the mass thereof a rupturable capsule containing vitamin A in an aqueous solution, said capsule being rupturable upon the application of finger pressure immediately before smoking, thereby releasing the vitamin A solution for exposure to the smoke passing through the filtering medium so that after the cigarette is lit and suction applied thereto, tiny droplets or an aerosol of said vitamin A will be carried in the smoke to the respiratory tract of the smoker.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,755,206 7/ 1956 Statia 13110.1 2,774,354 12/ 1956 Florman 131-20O X 2,809,637 10/1957 Hale 131-9 2,890,973 6/ 1959 Fachini 131- 17 3,047,433 8/1962 Bavley et al. 13117 FOREIGN PATENTS 652,716 11/ 1962 Canada. 1,173,793 10/ 1958 I France.

879,376 6/ 1953 Germany.

OTHER REFERENCES Ser. No. 261,049; Lande (A.P.C.), published May 11, 1943.

Vitamin A Found To Inhibit Cancer (pub.) New York Times, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 1966, pp. 47 and 90.

SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

MELVIN D. REIN, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A METHOD FOR INTRODUCING VITAMIN A INTO THE MOUTH AND RESPIRATORY TRACT OF A SMOKER WHICH COMPRISES LOCATING A RUPTURABLE CAPSULE IN THE MOUTH END OF A CIGARETTE HAVING A TOBACCO CHARGE AND A FILTER MEDIDUM DOWNSTREAM FROM SAID TOBACCO CHARGE, SAID RUPTURABLE CAPSULE BEING IN CONTACT WITH SAID FILTER MEDIUM AND CONTAINING A CONTROLLED AMOUNT OF VITAMIN A IN AN AQUEOUS SOLUTION, APPLYING PRESSURE TO SAID RUPTURABLE CAPSULE TO BRAK THE CAPSULE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE SMOKING THEREBY RELEASING THE VITAMIN A SOLUTION FOR EXPOSURE TO THE SMOKE PASSING THROUGH THE SAID FILTER MEDIUM SO THAT AFTER THE CIGARETTE IS LIT THE SUCTION APPLIED THERETO, TINY DROPLETS OR AN AEOSOL OF SAID VITAMIN A WILL BE CARRIED IN THE SMOKE TO THE RESPIRATORY TRACT OF THE SMOKER.

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