Research & development at British American Tobacco

Research & development at British American Tobacco - BAT Science

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Fishtail chimneys
This website is written specifically for scientists with an interest in tobacco-related research or related disciplines. We hope it may also be of interest to members of the public health and regulatory communities.
As a scientist you will be aware that apart from references to journal publications, the material has not been subject to formal external peer review.
For non-scientists there is a summary of our research on our corporate website www.bat.com Opens new window.
Ian Brown

Ian Brown
Head of Group R & D


Welcome to Research & Development at British American Tobacco, where you will find an overview of our current research and development programmes, research data and recently published papers and posters.

Cigarette smoking is a cause of serious and fatal diseases, so our research and development activities are principally focused on better understanding the mechanisms of harm caused by tobacco use and on developing potentially less harmful products which address this issue.  The science of tobacco harm reduction is complex, extremely challenging and spans many scientific disciplines.  We have significantly expanded our research capabilities and expenditure over the past few years to reflect the importance we place on work in this area.

We welcome your comments on this website and are pleased to discuss our science or possible collaboration with other scientists working in related areas.

Benzene graph snap shotA novel publication from Group Research and Development

This feature describes findings from a recently published study in which we used a novel analytical approach to measure volatile and organic compounds in cigarette smoke. We report data that challenges the conventional view that mainstream cigarette smoke is solely generated by the action of puffing.

To find out more, please click here.

To see a list of our most recent publications, please click here.

Combustion science
Combustion science
The combustion science programme seeks to understand the mechanisms underpinning the formation of smoke toxicants and facilitates development of practical methods for toxicant reductions.
in vitro models
In vitro assessment
The in vitro assessment programme involves identifying and developing in vitro assays which model pathological processes in key smoking-related diseases. We hope these models will give us a better understanding of smoke toxicity and disease mechanisms but also provide valuable tools for product evaluation.
Published papers
Our scientists write many papers which are both accepted and published around the world.
Upcoming conferences
Discover more about the conferences GR&D will be attending in 2010