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The production of Oriental tobacco has a significant role for the social status of Bulgarian farmers and the economic priorities of the regions. The demand for tobaccos that are truly competitive on the international market has forced the dominant production of Krumovgrad ecotype varieties in the country. The aim of the present research was to evaluate the quality profile of Oriental tobacco of Krumovgrad ecotype (variety Krumovgrad 90), as a significant part of the commodity segment of the Basma variety group. The study was carried out with tobaccos, produced in 10 micro regions of the Nevrokop region, 2019 crop year. Cured leaves were assessed in terms of chemical, visual and sensory quality, and the tobaccos were finally rated according to their complex quality manifestation (based on the achieved “quality index” value). The technological assessment of the quality profile of the studied Oriental tobacco of ecotype Krumovgrad proved that there were significant differences in cured leaf quality between the tobacco samples representing the same variety and crop year but grown in different areas. As a result from the complex quality evaluation procedure, the best rated was the tobacco produced in Godeshevo micro region, followed by those from Kornitsa, Furgovo and Ablanitsa. The data obtained by the study could be useful from the point of view of the technological processing of cured tobacco leaves and the objective of obtaining uniform batches of Krumovgrad ecotype tobacco within the commodity segment.

The production of “marketable” tobacco is decisive in the pReferences of local farmers towards certain varieties of Virginia and Burley tobaccos. The aim of the study was to complete a comparative technological evaluation of the quality potential of introduced and local varieties of Virginia flue-cured and Burley air-cured tobaccos in Bulgaria. The investigation was conducted with tobaccos from 2018 crop year and included 4 varieties of Virginia flue-cured and 2 varieties of Burley tobacco (local and introduced), grown in different regions of Southern and Northern Bulgaria. The complex assessment of tobacco quality was based on leaf and smoke chemical indicators, external leaf quality elements and smoking performance of the studied tobaccos. The final rating was achieved by referring to the value of the calculated “quality indices”. Two of the local varieties, V 0454 from region Parvomay and PVH 19 from Central Northern Bulgaria were rated the best in the complex evaluation of the FCV tobaccos. A better complex expression of quality was found in the introduced (trial) variety Burley N compared to the local Burley 1317 in Southern Bulgaria region.

The aim of the current study was to assess the quality level of Oriental tobaccos from the market sector of the “Basmi” variety group from different production areas in Bulgaria. Tobaccos from Krumovgrad and Greek Basma ecotypes (varieties “Krumovgrad 90”, “Krumovgrad 58”, “Krumovgrad 78”, and “Basma”, respectively) were investigated, all farmer-produced (2019 crop year) in seven tobacco regions. The investigation followed a procedure validated for monitoring the quality of Bulgarian tobaccos, incorporating four evaluation steps – chemical indices of tobacco and tobacco smoke, expert and smoking assessment, and final rating by a complex quality index. Statistically significant differences were observed between the compared tobaccos (variety and region based) within the two ecotypes. For Krumovgrad ecotype, the final rating of the compared tobaccos revealed the best complex quality indicators in varieties “Krumovgrad 78” from Kardzhali (micro-region Patitza), “Krumovgrad 58” from Haskovo-Harmanli (Stambolovo) and “Krumovgrad 58” from Ivaylovgrad (Belopoltzi). With the best quality level within ecotype Basma were the tobaccos produced in Svilengrad (micro-region Raykova mogila) and Momchilgrad (Chorbadzhiysko) regions. The results from the study substantiate the annual monitoring of the quality level of Bulgarian Oriental tobaccos and provide data, which have potential importance for the national tobacco sector.

The current investigation includes technological assessment and interpretation of the profile of tobaccos, tobacco derivatives and smoking products illegally distributed in Bulgaria, as officially provided for expertise in the Tobacco and Tobacco Products Institute (TTPI) by external contractors (legitimate state structures) in 2021. The physical and chemical properties of the tobacco objects, depending on their nature, were determined according to standardized methods. The biggest share in the analyses (139 in total) took the determination of tobacco cut width (39%) and particle size fractionation (37%), which supported the observation that the illicit tobacco market in Bulgaria is recently dominated by cut tobacco for hand-rolled cigarettes. In the cut tobacco predominated long and medium-sized strands, but in widely varying proportions (42.27-81.78% and 9.98-38.46%, respectively), with cut width in 0.59-1.06 mm range. The sieve analysis and the expert examination of the tobacco derivatives revealed that they were undoubtedly technological tobacco waste, and, respectively, that accentuated data must be communicated to consumers about the risks associated with the smoking of such tobacco articles. It was found that all illicitly traded fine-cut tobacco blends produced considerably higher tar (12.25-16.05 mg/cig) and CO (12.74-16.94 mg/cig) emissions than the limits set for conventional cigarettes.

The increased consumption of roll-your-own (RYO) cigarettes and water pipe (hookah), both globally and in Bulgaria, necessitated the current investigation aimed at the assessment of heavy metal levels in the tobacco blends used in those products. The concentrations of Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni were determined by AAS in five brands of RYO tobacco (R1-R5) and seven brands of water pipe tobacco (W1- W7), all distributed on Bulgarian market. The average heavy metal contents (mg/kg) in the two types of tobacco blends, RYO and water pipe, respectively, were as follows: Mn - 214.20 and 37.89; Zn - 31.90 and 134.87; Cu - 12.06 and 10.07; Cd - 0.80 and 1.33; Pb - 1.60 and 3.57; Ni - 1.36 and 0.80. RYO cigarette tobaccos contained higher concentration of Mn, Cu and Ni, while water pipe tobaccos - Zn, Cd and Pb. Strong correlations were found between Cu and Zn (r=0.81), Cu and Cd (r=0.90) in RYO tobacco blends, and between Cu and Zn (r=0.86) - in water pipe blends, respectively. The results from the study give reason to recommend that this information be provided to the consumers, who consider the regarded tobacco products as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes.

The research was conducted on 18 samples of RYO tobacco. The density (CFU/g a.d.s.) of three heterotrophic groups of microorganisms and some physical-chemical indicators were determined. The analyses were performed according to classic methods. Quantitative and qualitative changes at the microbiome as a result of disruption of homeostasis in microbial communities and development of secondary succession in the direction of intensive mineralization processes were found. Statistically significant correlation dependences with the physical-chemical parameters were registered. In addition to a potential risk in term of sanitary-hygiene and health aspects, the changes also have a negative impact on the consumer qualities of tobacco blends.

The integrated influence of trade, technological and production fundamentals that shape the market of flue-cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco in Bulgaria objectifies the need of systematic surveys on the quality of the tobacco varieties represented in the country. Therefore, current investigation regarded the quality level of PVH19 and Niki tobacco varieties in the regions of South and North Bulgaria (labeled conditionally as “local”), as well as that of two introduced varieties, H9 (Hungary) and V (Greece). The basic indicators of FCV tobacco quality were analyzed (leaf and smoke chemical composition, external leaf quality elements, smoking quality), and the final evaluation was completed by determining the complex “quality index score”. The results from the study revealed differences in tobacco quality formation, both on a region and variety basis, in terms of leaf and smoke chemical composition, expert and smoking assessment. The final rating of the studied varieties by the complex evaluation procedure was as follows: the best quality level was found for the H9 variety introduced for the region of Plovdiv, followed by PVH19 variety from the same region, the next were PVH19 (Parvomay) and V (Central North Bulgaria) varieties, and the lowest rated was the local Niki variety (Central North Bulgaria).

The European tobacco market has experienced significant changes in the last years – with the introduction of new tobacco products and the increased consumption of certain traditional products. Recent research of fine-cut tobacco blends (for RYO and MYO cigarettes) in Bulgaria is very limited, which substantiates the current comparative investigation of the smoke emissions of RYO tobaccos, accounting for the used materials (cigarette paper and filter tips). Three variants of laboratory-made cigarettes from five tobacco blends (A -E) were analyzed: variant I – with ready-to-use cigarette tubes; variant II – with gummed cigarette paper and filter tips with diameter 8 mm and length 15 mm; variant III – with the same cigarette paper and filter tips with diameter 6 mm and length 20 mm. The highest levels of smoke emissions were found for variant I and the minimal -for variant III, with no uniform trend between the blends. The smoke emissions from the analyzed RYO tobaccos exceeded the legal limits for commercial cigarettes, except for nicotine from blends B and D, and CO from blend D in variant III. In all variants, a strong correlation between the studied smoke emissions was observed -positive for nicotine/tar and tar/CO, and negative for nicotine/CO.