A Method of Treating Tobacco or Tobacco-products to Prevent or Neutralize the Injurious Action of Nicotine contained therein.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Mar., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 4th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 27th Jan., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by Professor HUGO GEROLD, of Halle, Doctor of
Medicine, and HERMAN OTTO WENDT, of Bremen, Tobacco Manufacturer,
both in the Empire of Germany.]
A Method of Treating Tobacco or Tobacco-products to Prevent or
Neutralize the Injurious Action of Nicotine contained therein.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co. Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The attempts hitherto made to prevent or neutralize the injurious action of
nicotine contained in tobacco and tobacco products as far as chemical agents have
been used for that purpose, have had either no success at all or but a very limited
success. It will not do to remove the nicotine from the tobacco, as the latter loses
simultaneously with this removal its characteristic peculiarity and ceases in its
sense to be a desirable article of consumption. All attempts heretofore made with
the object of rendering the nicotine harmless have caused a considerable change in
the specific peculiarity of the tobacco.
The discovery that tannic acid is capable of preventing an injurious dissolution
and distillation of nicotine, teaches the expediency of impregnating tobacco leaves
with tannic acid. The quantity of tannic acid admitted must however correspond
to the quantity of nicotine contained in the tobacco. With too little tannic acid
the desired object is not attained and with too much the product is spoiled, as it
will deteriorate in appearance, flavour and smell very brittle, which defects render
it unfit as a commercial article. The first of the above named defects can be
obviated by treating the tobacco with a definite proportion of taunic acid, while
the brittleness of the tobacco can be counteracted only by a careful selection of the
agents. Essential oils, by means of which the natural suppleness can be restored,
produce almost without exception an added spicy flavour, and the formation of
crystals which impart an undesired appearance and also injuriously affects the brand
in the caso of cigara.
The best results, with tobacco containing an average quantity of nicotine for the
above-mentioned purposes are obtained if the following decoction is used:
15 grammes of oak bark are boiled with 1 kilogrammes of water until the
weight is reduced to 1 kilogramme, and then, with addition of 30 grainmes of herba
origani vulgaris, at once taken from the fire. After this decoction has drawn for a
few minutes it is filtered and cooled to about 16 degrees centigrade; this infusion
is then spread over about eight kilogrammes of tobacco loaves coutaining an
average quantity of nicotine. As soon as the tobacco has absorbed this infusion it
is lightly pressed, and with moderate heat is dried in an airy room so far as is
necessary for its direct employment for the manufacture of the various tobacco
products.
Dated this 4th day of March 1893.

page_text: COMPLETE “SPECIFICATION:
A Method of Treating Tobacco .or Tobacco-products to Prevent or
Neutralize the Injurious Action of Niuotine contained therein.
I, HENRY Harris Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
The attempts, hitherto made to prevent or neutralize the injurious action of
nicotine contained in tobacco and tobacco products as far as chemical agents have
been used for that purpose, have lind either no success at all or but a very limited
success. It will not do to remove the nicotine from the tobacco, as the latter loses
simultaneously with this removal its characteristic peculiarity and ceases in this
sense to be a desirable article of consumption. All attempts heretofore made with
the object of rendoring.the nicotine harmless have caused a considerable change in
the specific peculiarity of the tobacco.
The discovery that tannic acid is capable of preventing an injurious dissolution
and distillation of nicotine, teaches the expediency of impregnating tobacco leaves
with tannic acid. The quantity of tannic acid admitted must, however, correspond
to the quantity of nicotine contained in the tobacco. With too little tannic acid
the desired object is not attained and with too much the product is spoiled, as it
will deteriorato in appearance, flavour and smell and become very brittle, which
defects render it unfit as a commercial article... The first of the above named
defects can be obviated by treating the tobacco with a definite proportion of tannic
acid; while the brittleness of the tobacco can be counteracted only by a careful
selection of the agents. Essential oils, by means of which the natural suppleness
can be restored, produce almost without exception an added spicy flavour and the
formation of crystals which impart an undesired appearance and also injuriously
affect the brand in the case of cigars. These inconveniences are avoided by the
employment of origany oil or the essential oil of origanum vulgare as it does not
separate out crystals nor impair the flavour of tobacco.
With tobacco containing an average quantity of nicotine the following decoction
may be used:
15 grammes of oak bark or oak apples are boiled with 14 kilogrammes of
water until the weight is reduced to 1 kilogramme, and then, with addition of
30 grammes of herba origani vulgaris, at.once taken from the fire. After this
decoction has drawn for a few minutes, it is filtered and cooled to about
16 degrees centigrade; this infusion is then spread over about eight kilogramines
of tobacco leaves containing an average quantity of nicotine. As soon as the
tobacco has absorbed this infusion it is lightly pressed, and with moderate heat is
dried in an airy room so far as it is necessary for its direct employment for the
manufacture of the various tobacco products.
In accordance with what is above stated pure tannic acid may be substituted for
the oak bark and in quantities up to 15 grammes, according to requirements.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to. be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:
1. A method of treating tobacco products for the purpose of preventing or
neutralizing the injurioue action of nicotine contained therein, which method
consists in impregnating the tobacco with a liquor containing tannic acid and
essential oil of origanum vulgare.

page_text: 2. A method of treating tobacco or tobacco products for the purpose of
neutralizing the injurious action of nicotine contained therein, which method
consiste in impregnating the tobacco with an infusion of oak bark and herbå
origani vulgaris.
b Dated this 4th day of December 1893.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.