Patent ID: 7726320

Claim:
A tobacco-containing, electrically-powered smoking article comprising: (a) an outer housing having a mouth-end and an end distal to the mouth-end, wherein the mouth-end comprises an opening adapted for egress of an aerosol generated within the smoking article and the distal end comprises an opening adapted for intake of air into the smoking article; (b) an electrical power source within the outer housing and operatively positioned downstream of the opening in the distal end of the outer housing such that air entering the smoking article passes the electrical power source; (c) a first electrical resistance heating element within the outer housing, powered by said electrical power source, and operatively positioned for heating air drawn through the opening in the distal end of the outer housing; (d) a tobacco material positioned within the outer housing; (e) an aerosol-forming material positioned within the outer housing in fluid communication with said tobacco material such that air can be drawn through both the tobacco material and the aerosol-forming material; (f) a second electrical resistance heating element within the outer housing, powered by said electrical power source, and operatively positioned for heating the aerosol-forming material and tobacco material and positioned downstream from the first electrical resistance heating element; and (g) a puff-actuated controller adapted for regulating current flow through at least one of said first and second electrical resistance heating elements during draw, the controller comprising a sensor adapted for sensing draw by the user on the smoking article; wherein the aerosol-forming material and tobacco material are positioned within a cartridge within the outer housing, the cartridge having an open end and a closed end with the open end facing the second electrical resistance heating element such that aerosol generated within the cartridge initially flows upstream in the direction of the second electrical resistance heating element.