Sci.Int.

(Lahore),24(2),139-141,2012

ISSN 1013-516; CODEN: SINTE 8

139

ANALYSIS OF NICOTINE CONTENT IN SOME OF THE POPULAR

CIGARETTE AND TOBACCO BRANDS IN MALAYSIA
a

S. Suryani*, aTitia Izzati and bAhmad Md Noor

Chemistry Programme, School of Distance Education, Universiti Sains Malaysia. 11800 Penang, Malaysia
b

School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. 11800 Penang, Malaysia

Tel: +604-6532270; Fax: +604-6576000
(suryanis@usm.my*; ti10_pjj033@student.usm.my; mnahmad@usm.my)

Abstract: This study determined the nicotine content of tobacco in cigarettes, clove cigarettes, cigars, and shag
tobacco of 14 popular brands in Malaysia. The method used was a descriptive and qualitative analysis method using
an ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer. The results for nicotine content are highest in shag tobacco, followed by
the contents of cigarettes and clove cigarettes. The differences are likely due to the quality of the tobacco leaves
used, the manufacturing process, and the packaging of the tobacco as cigarettes or shag tobacco.
Keywords: UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, tobacco, nicotine

INTRODUCTION
The highly toxic chemical in tobacco alkaloids is nicotine,
3-(1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl) pyridine present in the leaves of
Nicotiana tabacum [1]. Nicotine is only one of the several
thousands of compounds identified in tobacco, many of
which contribute to the flavor, aroma, and physiological
effects.
The determination of nicotine is an important analysis for
the tobacco industry, as the quality and usability of the
product can be determined by its nicotine content [2].
Nicotine content in cigarettes has been reported in several
studies [2-4] based on the dose reduction resulting from
cigarette smoke as the main control in estimating the
concentration of nicotine produced by smoking, controlling
the acidity of the product and other physical observations,
such as the size of the cigarettes and cut of the tobacco in it.
Nicotine can be found in tobacco particulate matter and in
tobacco smoke [5]. Nicotine in tobacco smoke is converted
to its volatile and available free-base from through the
action of gaseous ammonia [6].
Cigarettes and clove cigarettes are very popular in Malaysia.
Clove cigarettes are generally smoked by the Indonesian
population; cigarettes are popular among the local people;
and some people prefer their tobacco rolled in paper or palm
leaves for their enjoyment. Clove cigarettes in Malaysia are
imported from Indonesia. They are prepared by manually
mixing tobacco and clove together, and hand rolling them to
become cigarettes.
Various methods have been employed to determine the
nicotine content in tobacco, including solvent extraction
followed by gas-chromatographic-mass spectrometric
analysis [7] or liquid chromatography with ultravioletvisible (UV-vis) spectrophotometer [8].
The objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the
nicotine content of 14 popular cigarette and shag tobacco
brands available in the Malaysian market. All samples were
obtained from local stores and were screened using the UVVis spectrophotometer method.
1.

2. MATERIALS & METHODS

2.1. Samples
Tobacco is sold in packs, whereas cigarettes come in two
different packages of 10, 12, and 20 sticks per pack. The
popular cigarette and tobacco brands used in this study are
summarized in Table 1.

Table 1. Some of the popular cigarette and tobacco brands in

Malaysia
Retail price
(RM)
Brands
Weight
per stick (g) packing Stick Weight
(20
(av.) per 10
sticks (g)
sticks)
Cigarette
Dunhill (D)
0.69 0.04
Camel (C)
0.69 0.01
Kent (K)
0.51 0.01
Salem (S)
0.58 0.01
Sempoerna - A
Volution (AV)
0.55 0.01
Villiger (V)
0.90 0.06
Manchester (M) 0.60 0.01
Clove cigarette
Gudang
Garam
International
(GGI)
1.08 0.01
Gudang
Garam
Surya (GGS)
1.14 0.01
Dji Sam Soe
(DSS)
1.72 0.19
Selection
Chocolate (SC)
0.75 0.03
Cigar
Cerut Handlesgold
Vanilla (CH)
2.38 0.01
Shag Tobacco
T.J. Sykt Yam
Huat (SYH)
4.85 0.86d
T.J. Jeti Lama
(JL)
3.33 1.06d

10.0
9.00
10.00
10.00

0.50
0.45
0.50
0.50

6.59 0.18
6.80 0.01
6.19 0.19
6.12 0.29

9.30a
23.00
6.80

0.93
1.15
0.34

5.22 0.01
9.08 0.16
6.23 0.08

35.00b

3.00

10.89 0.41

7.90

0.40

11.42 0.28

36.00b

3.00

18.06 0.39

20.80

1.10

7.03 0.01

3.90c

3.90

4.67 0.08

3.00d

3.00

2.00d

2.00

per 10 stick , per 12 sticks, per stick, dper pack

Reagents were prepared as follows: 10 M NaOH of stock
solution was prepared by dissolving 40 g sodium hydroxide
(QRec) in 100 mL of distilled water; 10.95 g zinc acetate
(Bendosen) was dissolved in 1.5 mL of concentrated acetic
acid, completing the volume to 50 mL with distilled water;
and 1.06 g of K4Fe(CN)6 (R&M Chemicals) was dissolved in
10 mL of distilled water to prepare 10.6% (w/v) potassium
hexacyanoferrate(II) solution. All working solutions were
prepared according to the method by Al-Thamrah [10].

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ISSN 1013-516; CODEN: SINTE 8

2.2. Extraction of Nicotine

The extraction procedures were carried out with a slight
modification based on Rai et al. [11]. Ten sticks of
cigarettes from each of the various samples without rolling
paper as well as shag tobacco were ground. Each of the
samples was placed in a 100 mL beaker with 10 mL
methanol and was stirred with a magnetic bar for 30 min.
Distilled water of 25 mL was added, followed by 1 mL of 2
M sodium hydroxide, and was stirred into the solution for
another 30 min. The mixture was heated in a water bath for
6 min without leaving it to boil. It was then cooled and
filtered through a No. 41 ash less Whatman filter paper into
a 50 mL volumetric flask.
Zinc acetate solution of 1 mL and 1 mL of potassium
hexacyanoferrate (II) solution were added into the filtrate,
swirled, and shook slowly to mix. Distilled water was added
to complete the volume to the mark. The mixture was
centrifuged at 3,600 rpm for 5 min. The supernatant liquid
was collected into a 50 mL beaker, and the residue was
discarded. Activated carbon of 1 mg was added, mixed
thoroughly, and allowed to settle for 2 min before 5 mL of
0.01 M sodium hydroxide was added. The mixture was
filtered through a No. 41 ash less Whatman filter paper into
a 50 mL volumetric flask. Distilled water was added to
complete the volume to the mark.
2.3. Determination of Nicotine Concentration
The extraction of solutions from various cigarette and
tobacco samples was performed in accordance with the UVVis spectrophotometer, HITACHI U-2000, at a wavelength
at 602 nm to determine the nicotine concentration.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Owing to the problem of obtaining a nicotine standard, the
calibration graph used as reference in our determination of

was fixed at 6 min [10]. However, some extraction processes

reach an optimum result after 4 min [12].
Table 2. Nicotine content of different tobacco brands available in
the Malaysian market.
Nicotine
Nicotine
(mg/10 stick) (mg/stick)

Nicotine
(mg/g)

Dunhill (D)

3.53

0.35

0.64

Camel (C)

2.76

0.28

0.45

Kent (K)

1.74

0.17

0.30

Salem (S)

0.54

0.054

0.15

A Volution (AV)

2.14

0.21

0.41

Villiger (V)

3.22

0.32

0.42

Manchester (M)

1.44

0.14

0.35

Clove cigarette
Gudang
Garam
International (GGI)
1.90
Gudang Garam Surya
(GGS)
2.13

0.19

0.36

0.21

0.23

Dji Sam Soe (DSS)

3.08

0.29

0.17

Selection Chocolate (SC)

0.41

0.041

0.10

Cigar
Cerut Handlesgold Vanilla
(CH)
0.83

0.083

0.17

T.J. Sykt Yam Huat (SYH) 2.34*

0.91

0.92

Brands
Cigarette

Shag Tobacco

T.J. Jeti Lama (JL)

Figure 1. Nicotine content calibration graph

nicotine concentration was re-plotted from Al-Tamrah [10]

to a maximum concentration of 3.3 g/mL, as shown in
Figure 1. Errors in the actual nicotine content evaluated in
this manner are expected. However, as the objective is to
conduct a comparison study, our discussion emphasizes the
comparison between the cigarette and tobacco brands.
Direct heating of the reactants over a Bunsen burner during
the reaction process was avoided because of the
decomposition of the product that produces brown
precipitate. Instead, the process was carried out in a water
bath, and the chosen time for the optimum extraction results

Sci.Int.(Lahore),24(2),2012

4.48

* Nicotine (mg/pack)
Results of UV-Vis spectrophotometer analysis, as presented
in Table 2, show the nicotine concentration in a 1 L solution
plotted according to the cigarette and tobacco brands and
compared with the nicotine concentration shown in Figure 2.
A relatively proportional relationship between nicotine
concentration and the cigarette and tobacco brands is
observed.
Arbitrarily, the relationship can be grouped into three in
increasing order of nicotine content: < 0.30 mg/g for samples
SC, S, DSS, CH, GGS, and K (weight per stick range of
0.582.38 g); 0.300.60 mg/g for samples M, GGI, AV, V,
and C (weight per stick range 0.551.08 g); and 0.600.95
mg/g for samples D, SYH, and JL (weight per stick or pack
range 0.694.85 g). The results show lower nicotine content
in cigarettes of about 0.72 mg compared with that in
another study [5]. Nicotine content in cigars weighing 0.77
22 g ranged from 10.1444 mg [4]. In Table 1, the price of
cigarettes and tobacco is generally not related to nicotine
content, whereas the additional clove in clove cigarettes is a
factor for the high price of cigarettes.
Table 1 shows that the average weight per stick varies among
cigarettes, clove cigarettes, and cigars, whereas the weight of
the packs of shag tobacco remains the same. However, the

Sci.Int.(Lahore),24(2),139-141,2012

ISSN 1013-516; CODEN: SINTE 8

results indicate that this weight factor does not influence the
nicotine content of cigarettes and tobacco. The higher
content of nicotine in tobacco is probably caused by the
tobacco leaves not having been treated to reduce the
nicotine content prior to the packaging process. The low
demand and low selling price of shag tobacco compared
with those of cigarettes are possible results of this action.
1

0.9

0.8

Nicotine content, mg/g sample

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
SC

DSS

CH

GGS

GGI

AV

SYH

JL

Brands of cigarettes and tobacco

Figure 2. Nicotine content in popular brands of cigarettes and

shag tobacco in Malaysia

Tobacco has been proven a highly effective vehicle for

nicotine. All the variations of the physical and chemical
changes of the product design give precise control over the
shape, quantity, and the perception of the nicotine dose [9].
Shag tobacco, cigarettes, and clove cigarettes have similar
negative effects [10]. The difference in nicotine content is
related to the weight of each stick of cigarette sample, which
is likely caused by the quality of the tobacco leaves used,
the manufacturing process, and the packaging of the tobacco
as cigarettes, clove cigarettes, or shag tobacco.
4. CONCLUSION
In the current study, we determined the nicotine content of
tobacco in 14 popular brands of cigarettes, clove cigarettes,
and shag tobacco in Malaysia using the UV-Vis
spectrophotometer. The results show that the concentration
of nicotine in shag tobacco is the highest, followed by that
in cigarettes and clove cigarettes. There is a difference in the
nicotine content in each of the cigarette sticks.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by the Research University
Incentive Grant Fund No. 304/JPNP/600004.
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