CN1553777A - cigarette filter - Google Patents

Abstract

A cigarette filter that includes a multiple section filter which reduces the level of predetermined smoke constituents. The filter (130) consists of a fibrous filter plug (132) located at the mouth-end of the cigarette, a section (136) containing a selective adsorbent material, and a section (134) containing a general adsorbent material. The selective adsorbent material, such as a phenol-formaldehyde resin matrix surface-functionalized with mainly primary and secondary amine functional groups, removes specific smoke constituents from the tobacco smoke. The general adsorbent material, such as activated charcoal, is preferably capable of adsorbing a range of chemical compounds without a high degree of specificity. Structurally, the fibrous filter plug, the selective adsorbent section, and the general adsorbent section are co-axially aligned in tandem.

Description

cigarette filter

Cross References to Related Patent Applications

This application claims priority from the following applications: U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/309,338, filed August 1, 2001, U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/309,435, filed August 2001, U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 10/011,841, filed October 30 , 2001, the entire content of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.

Background of the invention

The present invention relates to a cigarette filter comprising a smoke component adsorbent which, when combined with a carbon-based filter material, exhibits a synergistic reduction of smoke vapor components.

A cigarette consists of a tobacco rod or column which, when combusted, produces a specific and vapor phase. Filters began to be joined to a tobacco rod about 70 years ago. Filters, among other things, remove various smoke constituents. Filters are made of fibers or fibrous materials, such as acetate tow or paper, which mechanically remove the particulate phase of tobacco smoke. However, fibrous materials cannot effectively remove volatile components, such as acetaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen sulfide, which form into the gas phase. Typically, an adsorbent is combined with the fibrous material to improve removal of gas phase components. For example, cigarette filters have incorporated activated carbon, porous minerals such as sepiolite, silica gel, cation exchange resins and anion exchange resins.

Charcoal has a high unit surface area and is a strong adsorbent for the gas phase composition of cigarette smoke. Charcoal is especially effective at scavenging acid gases when coated with a mixture of metal oxides.

Sepiolite has a large adsorption area with a strong adsorption affinity for charged species, but a low adsorption affinity for non-polarized species. Silica gel is generally considered to be a weakly retentive sorbent for the gas phase composition of tobacco smoke. Although silica gel readily absorbs acetaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide, this component is also readily released from silica gel. Cation exchange resins have been suggested for nicotine scavenging. Anion exchange resins have been suggested for niacin scavenging, but strongly basic anion exchangers have no effect on gas-phase acetaldehyde in smoke. Weakly basic anion exchange resins with a porous structure are suitable for scavenging niacin and acetaldehyde, but they are less effective during smoking than carbon and porous minerals.

Two or more adsorbents can be used in combination in cigarette filters. For example, U.S. Patent 2,815,760 discloses the use of an ion exchange material and materials that chemically react with noxious, non-basic, non-acidic components of smoke to form non-volatile compounds that convert the latter Keep in filter. However, the aforementioned additives have failed to produce a satisfactory selective scavenging of these smoke phase components, such as smoke acetaldehyde, especially acetaldehyde and acrolein. U.S. Patent 4,300,577 discloses that a weakly maintained adsorbent is used for gas-phase components, which is mixed with a second component having mainly primary amino functional groups for removing gas-phase components in cut tobacco smoke, including acetaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide. However, the filter of the '577 patent did not demonstrate adequate user acceptance or commercial viability.

Summary of the invention

The present invention relates to a cigarette filter comprising a multi-segment filter which reduces the level of a predetermined smoke constituent. The filter consists of a fibrous filter plug located at the mouth end of the cigarette, a section containing an optional absorbent material, and a section containing a general absorbent material.

The filter stopper may be any filter stopper known in the art, for example, a cellulose acetate tow. A general purpose adsorbent material is best chosen from a group of higher surface area materials, eg, activated charcoal, which are capable of absorbing a range of compounds without a high degree of specificity. The choice of adsorbent material is based on the specific smoke components that are targeted for removal. Preferably, the selected adsorbent material is selected from a group of surface functional resins, wherein each resin comprises a substantially inert support having a surface area greater than about 35 ^m² /g. In one embodiment of the invention, the adsorbent material of choice is a phenolic resin matrix, primarily surface functionalized with primary and secondary amino functional groups.

Structurally, selected sorbent material may adjoin the tobacco rod and general sorbent material may be positioned between the selected sorbent segment and the filter plug. Alternatively, the universal sorbent material may be positioned adjacent the tobacco rod and the selected sorbent material between the universal sorbent segment and the filter plug. Preliminary data indicate that the former orientation produces a synergistic effect in reducing smoke components relative to the latter orientation. Again, select sorbents and general sorbents can be interspersed within a conventional filter plug material, such as cellulose acetate, or the sorbent can be packaged as a pad or thin layer within the filter plug material.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a filter cigarette of the prior art;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a cigarette filter manufactured in accordance with the present invention, wherein sorbent is dispersed throughout a filter plug material, and general sorbent segments are positioned between the filter plug and selected sorbent segments;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a cigarette filter manufactured in accordance with the present invention wherein sorbent is dispersed throughout a filter plug material and selected sorbent segments are positioned between the filter plug and the general sorbent segment;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a cigarette filter manufactured in accordance with the present invention wherein the sorbent is packed as a liner in the filter plug material;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention with a filter plug disposed between the general adsorbent section and the optional adsorbent section;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention with the end of the filter plug adjacent to the tobacco rod;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention with an individual length segment of sorbent and fibrous filter material; and

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the invention without the filter plug segment.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

The cigarette filter of the present invention includes a multi-segment filter which reduces the level of a predetermined smoke constituent. The filter tip consists of a fibrous filter plug located at the mouth end of the cigarette, a section containing an optional absorbent material, and a section containing a general absorbent material.

As shown in FIG. 1 and known in the art, a typical filter cigarette 10 has a filter 30 attached to a tobacco rod 20 . The tobacco rod 20 includes a loose tobacco-containing mixture 22 wrapped within a rolling paper 24 and the filter 30 includes a filter plug 32 wrapped within a plug wrap 34 . A piece of tip paper 36 joins the filter 30 to the tobacco rod 20 .

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2 , a cigarette 110 has a multi-segment filter 130 connected to the tobacco rod 20 . The filter 130 includes a filter plug 132 with a section containing the general sorbent 134 and a section containing the optional sorbent 136 . A filter plug 132 is adjacent to the first or mouth end 131 of the filter 130 . The selected pad of sorbent 136 is adjacent to the second end or rod end 137 of the filter 130 . A pad of general sorbent 134 is positioned between the filter plug 132 and the pad of optional sorbent 136 .

Filter plug 132 is made of fiber or fibrous material and provides a clean, neat appearance at the mouth end of the cigarette. The filter plug 132 also maintains the security of the mouth end 131 while the cigarette 110 is being consumed. As is known in the art, filter plugs can be manufactured from various materials, among the most common materials are cellulose, acetate tow, paper, cotton, polypropylene mesh, polypropylene tow, polyester mesh, polyester tow or a combination of them. Optionally, a plasticizer can be added.

Universal sorbent segment 134 includes a universal sorbent material 144 dispersed throughout filter plug material 142, such as a "dual-dalmatian" filter known in the art. The general purpose adsorbent material 144 is preferably selected from a group of relatively high surface area materials capable of adsorbing smoke components without high degree of specificity. For example, common adsorbents can be selected from activated charcoal, activated coconut shell carbon, activated coal-based carbon, zeolite, silica gel, sepiolite, alumina or combinations thereof, as well as semi-anthracite Mineral-based charcoal with a density approximately 50 percent that of coconut shell carbon (supplied by CalgonCarbon, Pittsburgh, PA), Armbersorb 572 or Ambersorb 563 (carbon-containing carbon derived from the pyrolysis of sulfonated styrene-divinylbenzene Resin, supplied by Rohm andHass, 5000 Richmond street, Philadelphia, PA 19137), other materials of similar particle size, surface area, adhesion affinity, or combinations thereof. To further enhance the effect of the universal sorbent, metal oxides or other metal-based compounds may be added to the universal sorbent segment.

The optional sorbent segment 136 includes an optional sorbent material 146 dispersed throughout the filter plug material 142, such as a "dual-dalmatian" filter known in the art. The selected adsorbent material 146 preferably selects a predetermined class of compounds according to the characteristics of the material 146. For example, the selected adsorbent material 146 can be an ion exchange resin, such as Duolite A7 (supplied by Rohm and Hass. 5000 Richmond Street, Philadelphia, PA 19137) or materials with similar functional groups and binding affinity. Duolite A7 has a phenolic resin matrix and is surface functionalized with primary and secondary amino groups to enhance the adsorption properties of these resins for acetaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide found in cut tobacco smoke.

Furthermore, the selection of the selected sorbent material 146 must take into account that the contact conditions between the tobacco smoke and the sorbent material 146 depend on a series of variable factors, including the intensity with which the smoker draws the smoke through the filter when the cigarette is drawn, and the How much tobacco rods are consumed before puffing. Therefore, it is advantageous to select the adsorbent 146 to have a surface area greater than about 35 ^m2 /g, so that minimal diffusional resistance is obtained, and the surface area functional site is readily accessible. Materials with larger surface areas also exhibit less pronounced performance degradation, which can occur when sorbent 146 is dispersed in filter plug 142 if a portion of the surface is coated with a plasticizer.

Tobacco smoke is expelled by the smoker through the filter 130 when the cigarette is consumed. The smoke begins to progress through the selected sorbent segment 136 where targeted smoke components are adsorbed on the surface of the selected sorbent material 146 and particulate matter in the smoke is retained by the filter plug material 142 . The remaining smoke then proceeds through common sorbent section 134 where other smoke components are retained by sorbent material 144 and additional particulate matter is retained by filter plug material 142 . Finally, the remaining smoke then proceeds through filter plug 132 where additional particulate matter can be removed. The filtered smoke is then delivered to the smoker.

In a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, a multi-segment filter 110 is made with a filter plug 132 made of cellulose acetate tow, about 7 mm in length, and has a general absorbent A segment 134 comprising 40 mg of activated coconut shell carbon 144 dispersed throughout a cellulose acetate tow 142, cut to obtain a segment 134 of about 10 mm in length, wherein the cellulose acetate tow is treated with a plasticizer and has A selected sorbent segment 136, comprising 40 mg of Duolite A7 dispersed throughout a cellulose acetate tow 142, was cut to obtain a segment 136 of about 10 mm in length, wherein the cellulose acetate tow was treated with a plasticizer. When the tobacco rod is burned with a normal puff/breath cycle, analysis of the smoke exiting the mouth end 131 of the cigarette 110 shows a statistically significant reduction compared to a cigarette using only a similar resin filter. Levels of the following compounds were observed: hydrogen cyanide, furan, propionaldehyde, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone/butyraldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, 1,3 butadiene, 2-methylpropionaldehyde, isoprene, benzene Ethylene, pyridine, toluene and benzene. When the tobacco rod was burned with a normal puff/breath cycle, analysis of the smoke exiting the mouth end 131 of the cigarette 110 showed a statistically significant reduction in the following Levels of compounds: pyridine, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, styrene, 2-methylpropionaldehyde, benzene, propionaldehyde, furan, isoprene, 1,3 butadiene, crotonaldehyde, acetone, acrylonitrile , acetaldehyde, toluene, carbon disulfide, methyl ethyl ketone/butyraldehyde, propionaldehyde, acetonitrile and methanol.

As shown in Figure 2, the multi-segment filter 130 has a filter plug 132 adjacent to the mouth end 131, a selective sorbent segment 136 adjacent to the tobacco rod end 137, and a common sorbent segment 134 positioned between the filter plug 132 and the selected sorbent segment 136. between.

In an alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the cigarette 210 has a multi-segment filter 230, wherein the filter plug 132 is positioned at the mouth end 131, the general sorbent segment 134 is adjacent to the tobacco rod end 137, and the selected sorbent Section 136 is sandwiched between filter plug 132 and common sorbent section 134 . In this embodiment, during normal puffing, the smoke advances first through the common sorbent segment 134 , then through the selective sorbent segment 136 , and finally through the filter plug 132 . Furthermore, the multi-segment filter 230 is substantially the same as the filter 130 of the first exemplary embodiment (FIG. 2), except that the common sorbent segment 134 adjoins the tobacco rod 20, and the optional sorbent segment 136 sandwiches Placed between filter plug 132 and common sorbent segment 134. When the tobacco rod is burned with a normal puff/breath cycle, smoke analysis at the mouth end 131 (FIG. 3) of the exiting cigarette 210 shows statistically higher Significantly reduced levels of the following compounds: propionaldehyde, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone/butyraldehyde, crotonaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, 2-methylpropionaldehyde, pyridine, acrolein, toluene, acetaldehyde, acrylonitrile , methanol and benzene. When the tobacco rod was burned with a normal puff/breath cycle, analysis of the smoke exiting the mouth end 131 of the cigarette 210 showed statistically significant reductions in the following compounds compared to cigarettes using only charcoal filters Levels of: pyridine, hydrogen cyanide, benzene, propionitrile, crotonaldehyde, acetone, acrylonitrile, acetaldehyde, toluene, carbon disulfide, methyl ethyl ketone/butyraldehyde, propionaldehyde, acetonitrile and methanol.

As shown in another embodiment shown in FIG. 4, in the multi-segment filter 330 of the cigarette 310, the sorbents 144, 146 are thin layer segments of the general sorbent 344 and thin layer segments of the selected sorbent 346. Packed in filter plug material, in this example, the layer-packed sorbent is exposed to less plasticizer than the beam-dispersed sorbent, and retains a larger surface area for interaction with smoke components. Again, as shown in FIG. 7 , a multi-segment filter 630 for a cigarette 610 includes general sorbent 344 and selective sorbent 346 dispersed in individual segments of a single length of fibrous filter material 342 .

One advantage of the embodiment 110 of FIG. 2 is that the smoke travels through the selected adsorbent material 146 before passing through the general adsorbent 144 . This allows the selected sorbent material to remove certain smoke components before the general sorbent material is exposed to the smoke, thereby allowing the general sorbent 144 to more effectively remove the remaining smoke components. Thus, the effect of the collaboration of the adsorbent in the cellulose acetate/generic adsorbent/specific adsorbent arrangement is found here compared to the cellulose acetate/specific adsorbent/generic adsorbent arrangement.

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the multi-segment filters 430 and 530 of cigarettes 410 and 510, respectively, are disposed between the common sorbent segment 134 and the selective sorbent segment 136 (Figure 5), and adjacent to the tobacco rod. 20 at one end (Figure 6). In FIG. 5 , selected sorbent segment 136 is located at the mouth end of filter 430 , and in FIG. 6 , generic sorbent segment 134 is located at the mouth end of filter 530 . Again, as shown in FIG. 8 , a multi-segment filter 730 of a cigarette 710 includes only one general sorbent segment 134 and one optional sorbent segment 136 .

The following examples are representative of examples prepared according to the invention and the removal properties of the smoke components of these examples. These examples are presented for the purpose of illustration only, and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.

Example 1: A cigarette 110 with a multi-segment filter 130 is prepared as shown in Figure 2, wherein a filter plug 132 is made of cellulose acetate bundle and has a length of about 7mm, and a general sorbent segment 134 contains about 40 mg of activated coconut shell charcoal 144, dispersed throughout a plasticizer-treated cellulose acetate tow 142, cut to obtain a segment 134 of approximately 10 mm in length, and an optional sorbent segment 136 containing approximately 40 mg of Duolite A7, dispersed in The entire plasticizer-treated cellulose acetate bundle was cut to obtain a section about 10 mm in length. The filter is attached to the tobacco rod, has a length of about 56.5 mm, and contains about 617 mg of typical non-menthol cigarette blend (non-menthol cigarette blend) wrapped in 50 Coresta paper with about 1.8% citrate. This cigarette supplies about 10.3mg tar/each cigarette.

Example 2: A cigarette 210 with a multi-segment filter 230 is prepared as shown in FIG. 3, wherein the filter plug 132, common sorbent segment 134 and optional sorbent segment 136 are the same as the filter plug 132 of Example 1, common The adsorbent segment 134 and the selected adsorbent segment 136 are substantially the same. The filter is attached to a tobacco rod having a length of approximately 56.5 mm and containing 617 mg of typical non-menthol cigarette blend wrapped in 50 Coresta paper with approximately 1.8% citrate. This cigarette supplies about 10.0 mg of tar per cigarette.

Example 3: A cigarette prepared as in Example 1 except that about 20 mg of Duolite A7 was used in the selected sorbent segment 136 instead of 40 mg. This cigarette supplies about 10.2mg tar/each cigarette.

Example 4: A cigarette prepared according to Example 2 except that about 20 mg of Duolite A7 was used in the selected sorbent segment 136 instead of 40 mg. This cigarette supplies about 10.9mg of tar/per cigarette.

Example 5: A cigarette prepared as in Example 1 except that about 60 mg of Duolite A7 was used in the selected sorbent segment 136 instead of 40 mg. This cigarette supplies about 10.0 mg of tar per cigarette.

Example 6: A cigarette prepared as in Example 2 except that about 60 mg of Duolite A7 was used in the selected sorbent segment 136 instead of 40 mg. This cigarette supplies about 10.3mg tar/each cigarette.

Example 7: A cigarette prepared as in Example 1 except that approximately 69 mg of mineral-based charcoal made from semi-anthracite coal was used in the conventional sorbent section 136 instead of 40 mg of activated coconut shell charcoal. This cigarette supplies about 10.1mg tar/each cigarette.

Example 8: A cigarette prepared as in Example 2, except that about 69 mg of mineral-based charcoal made from semi-anthracite coal was used in the conventional sorbent section 136 instead of 40 mg of coconut shell charcoal. This cigarette supplies about 10.2mg tar/each cigarette.

Example 9: Representative cigarettes from Examples 1-6 were smoked from the end using a Borgwalt RM-20 smoking machine to a butt length of approximately 4 mm. The following procedure is outlined by the FTC. The smoke components exiting the filter end of each cigarette are passed through a Cambridge filter pad, the vapor phase is collected in a bag, and analyzed by GC/MC. This figure is normally about 10 mg tar/cigarette.

Average vapor phase yield (mg/cigarette) Cigarettes prepared by example 1 2 3 4 5 6 mg Dudite/per cigarette 40 20 60 order of filter segments CA/GA CA/SASA GA CA/GA CA/SASA GA CA/GA CA/SASA GA Acetaldehyde 330.9 333.7 380.7 346.2 320.3 310.9 Isoprene 231.4 240.4 252.1 246.1 227.4 227.2 acetone 144.1 163.5 156.0 160.5 148.0 151.4 Methanol 104.9 127.6 114.5 142.8 111.7 98.5 Acetonitrile 59.8 72.0 67.0 77.4 62.8 57.3 acrolein 29.6 31.4 33.6 32.2 28.5 29.9 methyl ethyl ketone 29.3 35.9 30.9 38.5 30.1 31.6 formaldehyde 23.5 25.8 25.5 25.0 22.1 24.5 Propionaldehyde 25.7 27.4 29.3 28.5 25.3 25.0 1,3 butadiene 25.5 25.9 27.5 25.5 25.8 25.0 Toluene 22.5 25.3 22.0 27.5 23.9 22.5 benzene 20.6 23.6 21.6 24.1 21.1 21.4 Acetonitrile 16.8 17.7 18.0 18.0 17.0 16.5 Furan 16.2 17.0 17.3 16.4 16.4 16.2 hydrogen cyanide 15.1 16.4 20.7 19.6 13.6 14.8 hydrogen sulfide 12.9 13.0 14.0 12.9 13.1 12.7 Acrylonitrile 12.9 15.0 13.5 15.9 13.6 12.8 2-Methylpropanal 6.4 6.7 7.0 7.0 6.6 6.4 crotonaldehyde 5.1 5.9 5.5 6.3 5.3 5.0 carbon disulfide 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.5 Styrene 2.0 1.8 2.2 1.9 2.1 1.7 pyridine 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.8 1.9 1.8

CA = cellulose acetate filter plug; GA = general sorbent segment; SA = selected sorbent segment.

Example 10: Representative cigarettes of Examples 7 and 8 were smoked from the tip to a butt length of about 4 mm using a Borgwalt RM-20 smoking machine. The following procedure is outlined by the FTC. The smoke components exiting the filter end of each cigarette are passed through a Cambridge filter Pad pad, the vapor phase is collected in a bag, and analyzed by GC/MC. This figure is normally about 10 mg tar/cigarette.

Average vapor phase yield Mg/cigarette Cigarettes prepared by example 7 8 mg Duolite/per cigarette 40 order of filter segments CA/GASA CA/SAGA Acetaldehyde 343.4 364.2 Isoprene 225.0 268.9 acetone 138.6 162.3 Methanol 95.1 134.7 Acetonitrile 61.4 84.6 acrolein 9.8 35.3 methyl ethyl ketone 28.3 39.8 Propionaldehyde 26.4 30.2 1,3 butadiene 25.4 27.7 Toluene 18.7 24.2 benzene 21.3 27.3 Acrylonitrile 7.5 9.0 Furan 17.0 18.4 hydrogen cyanide 16.7 19.5 hydrogen sulfide 14.7 14.1 Acrylonitrile 15.7 20.3 2-Methylpropanal 13.0 14.8 crotonaldehyde 3.3 5.1 carbon disulfide 2.8 2.8 Styrene 1.8 2.1 pyridine 1.3 1.4

CA = cellulose acetate filter plug; GA = general sorbent segment; SA = selected sorbent segment

From a production point of view, dispersing the selected adsorbent material 146 and the general adsorbent material 144 throughout the filter bundle 142 has some advantages, especially when the adsorbents 144, 146 are dispersed in the filter bundle 142, the ratio of the adsorbents to them is Easy to handle when loose particles. However, when the sorbent 144, 146 is dispersed within the filter bundle 142, there is a danger that any plasticizer used on the bundle 142 will affect the surface of the sorbent 144, 146, thereby reducing its adsorptive capacity. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4 , the sorbents 144 , 146 may be packaged within the filter plug material 142 as thin layer segments of the common sorbent 344 and the selective sorbent 346 .

Because the packaged sorbent will not be exposed to the same levels of plasticizer as the beam dispersed sorbent, the sorbent will retain a larger usable surface area to interact with smoke components.

Reading the foregoing, one of ordinary skill should be able to contrive variations on the features of the present invention. For example, filter plugs, general sorbent segments and selected sorbent segments may vary in length and diameter relative to any of the dimensions specified herein and relative to each other. Furthermore, the dimensions of the different segments may be optimized for a particular tobacco blend or for a particular tobacco rod size. These and other changes are believed to be within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims (31)

1. A multi-segment cigarette filter, comprising: (a) a selected sorbent segment containing a selected sorbent material having an affinity for a predetermined set of compounds dispersed throughout a fibrous material, and (b) a general sorbent segment containing a general sorbent material with a high surface area capable of adsorbing smoke components without the high degree of characteristic, the above selected sorbent segment and the above general sorbent The dose segments are coaxially arranged in series. 2. A cigarette filter according to claim 1, wherein said selected adsorbent material is an ion exchange resin. 3. A cigarette filter according to claim 2, wherein said selected sorbent material has a surface area sufficient to ensure that the surface functional sites are readily accessible to smoke constituents. 4. Cigarette filter according to claim 2, characterized in that said ion exchange resin has a matrix of phenolic resin and is surface functionalized with primary and secondary amino groups. 5. The cigarette filter of claim 2, wherein said selected sorbent segment comprises said selected sorbent material dispersed throughout a fibrous material. 6. The cigarette filter of claim 2 wherein said selected sorbent segment comprises a tightly packed pad of said selected sorbent material. 7. The cigarette filter according to claim 1, wherein said universal adsorbent material is selected from the group consisting of activated charcoal, activated coconut shell carbon, activated coal-based carbon, zeolite, carbon dioxide Silica gel, sepiolite, alumina, coal-based charcoal made from semi-anthracite, carbonaceous resins made from sulfonated styrene-divinylbenzene pyrolytic derivatives, or a combination thereof. 8. Cigarette filter according to claim 7, characterized in that said universal sorbent segment contains said universal sorbent material dispersed throughout a fibrous material. 9. A cigarette filter according to claim 7, wherein said universal sorbent segment comprises a tightly packed pad of said universal sorbent material. 10. The cigarette filter according to claim 7, wherein said universal sorbent segment further comprises a metal oxide or other metal-based compound. 11. The cigarette filter according to claim 1, comprising a fibrous filter plug, wherein said filter plug is made of the following materials "cellulose, acetate tow, paper, cotton, polypropylene mesh, polypropylene bundles, polyester mesh, polyester strands or a combination thereof, the aforementioned fibrous filter plugs are coaxially arranged in series with the aforementioned optional sorbent segments and the aforementioned general sorbent segments. 12. The cigarette filter according to claim 11, further comprising a plasticizer, a liquid additive, a flavoring agent or a combination thereof. 13. The cigarette filter of claim 11, wherein said common sorbent segment is positioned between said fibrous filter plug and said selective sorbent segment. 14. The cigarette filter of claim 11, wherein said selective sorbent segment is positioned between said fibrous filter plug and said common sorbent segment. 15. The cigarette filter according to claim 11, wherein said plug of fibers is positioned between said selective sorbent segment and said common sorbent segment. 16. A cigarette filter according to claim 1, comprising a plug wrap defining said common sorbent segment and said selective sorbent segment. 17. The cigarette filter of claim 1, wherein said selected sorbent material has a surface area greater than about 35 ^m2 /g. 18. A multi-segment cigarette filter comprising: (a) A fibrous filter plug selected from the group consisting of cellulose, cellulose acetate tow, paper, cotton, polypropylene mesh, polypropylene tow, polyester mesh, polyester tow, or a combination thereof combination; (b) a selected sorbent section, comprising an ion exchange resin, having a surface area sufficient to ensure that the surface functional sites are readily accessible to smoke components; (c) a general sorbent section containing a general sorbent material selected from the group consisting of activated charcoal, activated coconut shell carbon, activated coal-based carbon, zeolites, silica gel , sepiolite, alumina, coal-based charcoal made from semi-anthracite, carbonaceous resins made from sulfonated styrene-divinylbenzene pyrolytic derivatives, or a combination thereof, filtration of the above-mentioned fibers The plug, the above-mentioned optional sorbent section and the above-mentioned general sorbent section are coaxially arranged in series. 19. A cigarette filter according to claim 18, characterized in that said ion exchange resin has a matrix of phenolic resin and is surface functionalized with primary and secondary amino groups. 20. The cigarette filter according to claim 18, wherein said selected adsorbent segments comprise said ion exchange resin dispersed throughout a fibrous material. 21. The cigarette filter of claim 18 wherein said selected sorbent segment comprises a tightly packed pad of said ion exchange resin. 22. The cigarette filter according to claim 18, wherein said universal sorbent segment comprises said universal sorbent material dispersed throughout a fibrous material. 23. The cigarette filter according to claim 22, wherein said universal sorbent segment further comprises an additive selected from a metal oxide or other metal-based compound. 24. The cigarette filter of claim 18, wherein said universal sorbent segment comprises a tightly packed pad of said universal sorbent material. 25. The cigarette filter according to claim 24, wherein said universal sorbent segment further comprises an additive selected from a metal oxide or a metal-based compound. 26. A cigarette filter according to claim 18, wherein said filter plug is made of cellulose acetate tow. 27. The cigarette filter according to claim 18, wherein said filter plug further comprises a plasticizer, a liquid additive, a flavoring agent or a combination thereof. 28. The cigarette filter of claim 18, wherein said common sorbent segment is positioned between said fibrous filter plug and said selective sorbent segment. 29. The cigarette filter of claim 18, wherein the selective sorbent segment is positioned between said fibrous filter plug and said common sorbent segment. 30. The cigarette filter according to claim 18, wherein said fibrous filter plug is positioned between said selective sorbent section and said common sorbent section. 31. The cigarette filter of claim 18, wherein said selected adsorbent material has a surface area greater than 35 ^m2 /g.

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