The average weight of tobacco used in the manufacture of each cigarette has declined over time (Table 5.1).(13,14) This is because the federal government's excise tax on tobacco is levied on tobacco by weight, so by reducing the quantity of tobacco they use, the manufacturers minimise their federal tax burden (see also Chapter 7, Section 1).
Australia now produces the world's lightest cigarettes, containing 25%-30% less tobacco than cigarettes in other countries. Between 1975 and 1992, the quantity of leaf used by the Australian tobacco manufacturing industry declined by 20%, although over the same time period, numbers of cigarettes sold in Australia increased from 25.8 billion to 33.2 billion.(15) The implications of this reduction in tobacco use for Australian tobacco farmers are discussed in Chapter 14, Section 16.
The production of more cigarettes from less tobacco is possible partly because the manufacturing process for cigarettes includes the technique of expanding the tobacco leaf, using gases to 'pump it up' such as freon and carbon dioxide. However cigarettes have also reduced in size, particularly in the larger packaging configurations (a cigarette in a pack of 35 or 40 being slimmer than those in a pack of 20), and because of other manufacturing variables such as filter size and paper weight.(16)
One industry analyst has commented that the expansion process of tobacco leaf has reached its natural limits, further declines in the amount of leaf used per cigarette being likely to compromise taste.(17) However decrements in taste may be compensated for by the addition of flavourings, which themselves contribute to the weight of tobacco (see Section 5.8 below).