Tar levels in cigarettes fifteen times higher than legal limits: a highly anticipated court ruling in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, an upcoming court ruling could lead to the introduction of a new method to better analyze the levels of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide (TNCO) in cigarettes, as well as a change in the composition of cigarettes, or even a rethink or even a ban on cigarette filters.

In July 2023, a study by the Netherlands Institute of Public Health showed that all cigarettes on sale in the Netherlands contained levels of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide up to fifteen times higher than indicated.[1]Only three brands had nicotine levels that met legal requirements. These results were achieved by testing the cigarettes using a method developed by the World Health Organization, rather than a protocol inherited from the tobacco industry.[2].

An evaluation method contested by public health and circumvented by the tobacco industry

In the late 1960s, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission adopted a testing protocol to analyze tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide levels. This protocol, called the ISO method, was developed by researchers at the American Tobacco Company in 1936 and has since been widely used worldwide. It involves having a machine inhale the equivalent of 35 cubic centimeters of smoke once per minute, over a period of 2 seconds. However, this method cannot replicate real-life smoking. Available research shows that smokers inhale more than 35 cubic centimeters and puff more frequently than once per minute. Furthermore, this testing protocol has been circumvented by the tobacco industry, puncturing small holes in the filter on the sides, far from where the machine holds the cigarette. Thus, under test conditions, these holes allow a flow of air to flow in, diluting the smoke and artificially reducing the levels of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide. However, under real-life conditions, these micro-perforations are blocked by the smoker's fingers holding the cigarette, and the levels of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide ingested are much higher than those indicated in the laboratory. The limitations of the ISO test protocol have long been known to the tobacco industry: in the 1970s, Philip Morris International created its own test, recording tar levels three times higher than those found by the current protocol.

WHO Intense method more reliable for assessing tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide levels

Following the cigarette filter micro-perforations scandal, a civil action was filed in Rotterdam in 2018 demanding that the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) enforce legal maximum levels with a new measurement protocol. Commissioned by the Dutch State Secretary for Health, the Netherlands Institute of Public Health sought to test 100 cigarette brands using the Intense method, adopted by the World Health Organization and intended to more closely approximate real-life smoking conditions. The study results showed that almost all cigarettes exceeded the legal levels of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide by two to three times. In February 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that a more precise protocol should be implemented, allowing the Rotterdam court to order the NVWA to adopt a new measurement protocol. The major tobacco manufacturers have appealed the Rotterdam decision.

Considerable consequences for the tobacco industry and public health

The Dutch court's final decision is expected in November 2023. However, the case could be referred to the European Court of Justice, potentially leading to the adoption of the Intense method across Europe. By complying with the WHO protocol, the tobacco industry could be forced to redesign its cigarette filters, end the practice of making micro-perforations in its filters for ventilation, or reduce the levels of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide in its products. So far, thirteen European Union countries have called for the adoption of the WHO method, including Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, and Portugal.

FT

[1] National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Smokers inhale more tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide when measured with WHO method, 07/07/2023, (accessed 07/19/2023)

[2] Karen Evans-Reeves, Dutch courts in position to end Low Tar Lie, Tobacco Control, 07/17/2023, (accessed 07/19/2023)