Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/550313
78 tobaccoasia Although it is highly experienced in the production of tradi- tional cigarette products, STG had to start from scratch when it came to researching and developing innovative tobacco prod- ucts. In the absence of both technology and equipment required, how could it make a start? Not giving in to despair, STG hired foreign experts to offer guidance to its technicians. The technicians were assigned to the process of designing oral tobacco, and they attended workshops given by foreign experts, studied extremely hard, and tried to master the technological know-how as soon as possible. STG also managed to produce the necessary equipment. Any technology not supported by tangible hardware will only exist on paper. Because there are no oral tobacco production equipment manufacturers in China, the technicians contacted many potential partners and embarked on manufacturing the needed equipment on its own. "While managing to solve the various difficulties on the part of hardware, our technicians had to overcome hard technical problems when it came to 'software' as well," Wang Sen said. "That means they had to adapt themselves to the concept of developing new types of tobacco products as early as possible, changing their mindset of developing traditional tobacco prod- ucts. We needed to realize a transformation in ourselves from a staff of researchers and developers of products into a team of managers of new product development." In the process of developing oral tobacco, a number of young leading technicians specializing in it have swiftly emerged in STG. Flavorist Lu Chengwei was one of them. "Flavoring is a crucial technology for tobacco manufactur- ing enterprises," Lu said, underscoring his heavy responsibility. "As the saying goes, it is difficult to cater to all tastes. Flavorists work to satisfy the tastes of a majority of people through their efforts," he added. In an effort to meet the demand of consumers, STG devel- oped oral tobacco with eight flavors, including a fruit flavor and a flower flavor. "We have also developed liquor-flavored oral tobacco. Sucking a piece of it is just like drinking liquor," Lu said with a smile. There is, however, a difficult problem to tackle in the development of oral tobacco: how to maintain continuity of the flavor. In the beginning, the flavor of the oral tobacco they developed lasted a relatively short time. Held in the mouth, the flavoring ingredients could last about 20 minutes, which lagged far behind similar products manufactured abroad. A most direct approach for prolonging the flavor was to increase the use of essences and flavorings, but their excessive use would negatively impact the feeling of the users. Trying to solve this problem, the technicians kept experimenting and improving the formula, trying dozens of monomer essences and flavoring agents, including fruit flavor, flower flavor, and spices, and launched research on reformulation. While trying to tackle the problems they faced, the technicians have accumulated valuable experi- ence. Today, their oral tobacco products have a flavor that lasts more than one hour – on par with mainstream products manu- factured abroad. A more traditional feel for e-cigarettes As opposed to oral tobacco, electronic cigarettes have only emerged in recent years. According to Chen Chao, the head of the electronic cigarettes development project at STG's new r&d center, an electronic cigarette mainly consists of the battery and the cartridge, while the cartridge can be divided into the atomizer and the smoke cartridge. Depending on whether the battery is detachable from the smoke cartridge, there are two topes of electronic cigarettes – integrated and separated. The battery in separated-type e-cigarettes can be recharged and their cartridges are replaceable. "The atomizing technology and the formula of the nicotine liquid are both crucial to the development of electronic ciga- rettes," Chen said. "Atomizing of electronic cigarettes is driven by the battery, and is intended to atomize the nicotine liquid in the cartridge to make it available for consumers to smoke. First and foremost, we need to ensure the safety of our products, including the safety of inhalation and electrical safety." The nicotine liquid in electronic cigarettes is just like cut tobacco in traditional cigarettes. But the formula in electronic cigarettes is greatly different from traditional cigarettes. How to develop a nicotine liquid formula that meets the requirement of electronic cigarettes has been a hard technical problem for the researchers of electronic cigarettes. The team designated by STG to develop the formula of such a liquid has closely coop- erated with essences and flavorings manufacturers, as well as various formula experts so they could offer their ideas and sug- gestions. In comparison with other electronic cigarette prod- ucts with a relatively strong flavor of essences currently on the market, the e-cigarettes developed by the team are closer to traditional cigarettes in terms of the feel, with a better coordi- nated nicotine liquid. As the next step, the team is planning to further improve the flavor of electronic cigarettes. In terms of varieties, it will develop compact-type electronic cigarettes in order to cater to different consumer preferences. It will further expand the func- tions of products by adding a device capable of readjusting the power output of the atomizer, adding a liquid crystal display screen capable of displaying the working status of electronic cigarettes, etc. Presently, the new types of tobacco products developed by STG are still in the experimental stage. STG researchers always closely monitor the latest developments in tobacco markets around the world, keep strengthening their scientific and technological research, and make sufficient technical reserves for sustainable and healthy future development of the tobacco industry as a whole and STG in particular. Innovation is forever accompanying STG on its way to greater success. Since its inception, STG has always maintained a consistently high quality of its tobacco products, and innova- tion is its greatest stabilizer. Chunghwa – a time-honored brand of traditional cigarette products from STG – has always been an extremely well-performing cigarette brand in China. Such innovative blood will continue to be injected into the new type of tobacco products currently under development by STG, a company in the process of building a solid foundation for the development of brand new tobacco products in future.