Overview - ISO 3402:2023 (Tobacco conditioning and testing atmosphere)
ISO 3402:2023 specifies the atmosphere for conditioning and testing samples of tobacco and tobacco products. Primarily aimed at cigarettes, the standard can also be applied to other tobacco forms and materials used in manufacture when prior conditioning is required. The document standardizes environmental conditions (temperature, relative humidity and, where relevant, pressure) so that laboratory results for tobacco testing are comparable across sites.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Conditioning atmosphere
- Temperature: 22 ± 1 °C
- Relative humidity (RH): 60 ± 3 %
- Mean values should be calculated over a laboratory-defined interval; temperature and RH must be monitored.
- Short-term excursions (e.g., door openings) are acceptable.
- Test atmosphere
- Temperature: 22 ± 2 °C
- Relative humidity: 60 ± 5 %
- Atmospheric pressure should be recorded and reported if outside 86 kPa to 106 kPa.
- Conditioning procedure
- Typical practice: 48 h conditioning with forced air flow is generally sufficient for loose cigarettes; longer conditioning may be needed for bulk-packed products or when forced airflow is not used.
- Transfer of conditioned test portions should be in airtight containers unless conditioning and testing locations are adjoining.
- Airflow must be sufficient to achieve conditioning within the specified time, but excessive airflow may cause improper conditioning.
- Equilibrium criteria
- Equilibrium is reached when either:
- mass variation of the conditioning sample is ≤ 0.2 % in 3 h, or
- a closed container with the sample develops an RH equal to the conditioning atmosphere.
Applications and practical value
- Ensures consistent pre-test conditioning of cigarettes, tobacco blends, and tobacco product components.
- Supports reproducible measurements in laboratories performing:
- physical tests (e.g., mass, moisture content),
- chemical analyses,
- product performance and quality control.
- Useful for manufacturers, independent testing labs, regulators, and standards bodies to align test conditions and reporting.
- Tobacco manufacturers and R&D teams
- Quality control and analytical laboratories
- Regulatory testing authorities
- Standards committees and test method developers
Related standards
- Terminology harmonized with ISO 4387 (referenced in the document). Other ISO tobacco-testing standards may refer to ISO 3402:2023 for conditioning and test-atmosphere requirements.
Keywords: ISO 3402:2023, tobacco conditioning, test atmosphere, conditioning atmosphere, tobacco testing, cigarette conditioning, relative humidity, laboratory testing, tobacco product standards.
