One version of a fire resistant cigarette comprises a charge of tobacco in a low-porosity wrapper substantially free of burn accelerator. The sidestream smoke from this cigarette can be reduced by treating the wrapper with water or ethyl alcohol. Fire resistance is further improved by depositing a linear burn rate reducing substance on the paper from the group consisting of citric acid, magnesium citrate, magnesium acetate, tartaric acid, acetic acid, lactic acid, a sugar, non-fat milk and skim milk. Similar results are achieved with conventional medium to high porosity cigarette papers by treating them with a burn rate reducing substance from the same group. In the case of high porosity cigarette paper, if only a part of the surface area is treated, the porosity of the untreated areas controls tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide delivery. Still further improvements in sidestream smoke reduction and fire resistance may be achieved by the use of an additional layer of high-porosity cigarette paper in the wrapper.

In one aspect, the invention provides a simple, readily manufacturable, low tar cigarette with individual puff deliveries similar to those obtained from conventional cigarettes which have a higher total smoke delivery such as a full flavor cigarette. The low tar cigarette includes a tobacco rod segment having a length of 53 mm. or less abutting a filter segment having an overall length of at least 31 mm. wherein the filter segment includes a synthetic fiber filter plug and provides a smoke delivery reduction of at least 55% and wherein the cigarette has an average puff count of 6.5 or less. In another aspect, the invention provides nonconventional smoking articles which have an elongated nonsmokable mouthend portion, i.e., greater than 3/8 of the length of the smoking article, yet have the appearance of conventional filtered or non-filtered cigarette wherein the elongated nonsmokable mouthend portion is wrapped with a tipping paper which bears on at least a portion of its surface adjacent its edge nearest the lighting end of the cigarette, a verge pattern visually similar to the verge pattern on a conventional cigarette paper.

Cigarette rods include four segments of smokable material. First and second segments are positioned at the extreme ends of the rod. The first segment is positioned at the end of the rod to be lit. A third segment is positioned adjacent the first segment, and a fourth segment is positioned adjacent the second segment. The density of the third segment is greater than the fourth segment. The first and second segments can be "dense ends" or "loose ends" relative to the respective adjacent segments. The cigarette rods have a relatively uniform burn rate provided by treatment of the wrapping material of the rod with burn rate suppressants and burn rate accelerators in the positions thereof which overlie the third and fourth segments, respectively.

Hydrophobic particles containing polar groups on their surfaces are incorporated into a tobacco smoking article to remove deleterious chemical compounds, both polar and non-polar, from the tobacco smoke.

A cigarette making apparatus for making self-extinguishing cigarettes including an electromagnetically actuated spray nozzle for directing a solution of sodium silicate onto a stream of tobacco at predetermined intervals such that when the stream of tobacco is formed into a continuous cigarette rod and the rod is cut into individual cigarettes, the sodium silicate treated portion of the tobacco stream will fall at the midpoint of each finished cigarette.