Smokeless tobacco product, smokeless tobacco product in the form of a sheet, extrudable tobacco composition, method for manufacturing a smokeless tobacco product, method for delivering super bioavailable nicotine contained in tobacco to a user, and packaged smokeless tobacco product sheet

• US 10,334,872 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2015
• Issued: 07/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Philip Morris Products SA (Philip Morris Limited)
• Original Assignee: Philip Morris Products SA (Philip Morris Limited)
• Inventors: Fuisz, Richard C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Michael H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mayes, Dionne W.
• Application Number:
  US14/829,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20150351448A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,413 Days
• Field of Search: 131347, 131352
• CPC Class Codes: A23L 27/79 in the form of films
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 13/00 Tobacco for pipes, for cigars, e.g. cigar inserts, or for cigarettes; Chewing tobacco; Snuff reconstituted tobacco products A24B3/14
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 15/16 of tobacco substitutes
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 15/18 Treatment of tobacco products or tobacco substitutes
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 15/186 by coating with a coating composition, encapsulation of tobacco particles encapsulation of additives other than tobacco : A24B15/283
• CPC Class Codes: A24B 3/18 Other treatment of leaves, e.g. puffing, crimpling, cleaning

Abstract

A nonaqueous, extrudable composition includes at least one thermoplastic polymer in an amount of more than 20 wt % of the whole composition and tobacco. A smokeless tobacco product in the form of a sheet can be made by extruding or hot melt shaping a nonaqueous composition comprising at least one thermoplastic polymer and tobacco, the sheet being soluble in a user'"'"'s mouth and resulting in sustained release of nicotine to the user. The sheet can be in a form that may be placed in the buccal cavity of, on the palate of or sublingually in the user, and have an average dissolution time of 5 to 50 minutes for delivering super bioavailable nicotine to the user.

Claims

1. A smokeless tobacco product comprising a sheet made by extruding or hot melt shaping a nonaqueous composition comprising at least one water soluble thermoplastic polymer and tobacco, wherein the tobacco is present in an amount of less than 100 mg in a single dose of the product such that a user'"'"'s maximum measured nicotine plasma concentration is greater than 4 ng/ml, the sheet comprising a matrix comprising the at least one thermoplastic polymer and the tobacco distributed in the matrix, the matrix being soluble in a user'"'"'s mouth and resulting in sustained release of nicotine to the user.

2. The smokeless tobacco product according to claim 1, wherein the smokeless tobacco product has a pH of 6 to 8 when the composition is present in the user'"'"'s mouth.

3. The smokeless tobacco product according to claim 1, wherein the nonaqueous composition further comprises a buffering agent for controlling a pH of the sheet to be 6 to 8 when the extruded sheet is present in a user'"'"'s mouth.

4. The smokeless tobacco product according to claim 1, wherein the sheet has an average dissolution time of 5 to 50 minutes, measured for a sheet having a surface area of approximately 1-1.5 in2 and a thickness of approximately 10-50 mil, to dissolve fully in a buccal cavity of a user.

5. The smokeless tobacco product according to claim 1, wherein the sheet has a thickness that varies over its entire surface area as compared to an average thickness of the extruded sheet by at most ±

10%.

6. The smokeless tobacco product according to claim 5, wherein the sheet has a tobacco content that varies over its entire surface area by at most ±

10%.

7. The smokeless tobacco product according to claim 1, wherein the sheet has a tobacco content that varies over its entire surface area by at most ±

10%.

8. The smokeless tobacco product according to claim 1, wherein the at least one water soluble thermoplastic polymer is contained in an amount of at least 20 wt % of the whole composition.

9. The smokeless tobacco product according to claim 1, wherein the sheet has a thickness of 5 to 50 mils.

10. The smokeless tobacco product according to claim 1, wherein the sheet has a rectangular shape having a length of 1/16 inch to 4 inches long, a width of 1/16 inch to 4 inches and a thickness of 5 to 50 mils.