Tobacco articles and methods
Some embodiments of a tobacco article may include tobacco disposed in a porous matrix. The tobacco article may provide tobacco, tobacco constituents, or both tobacco and tobacco constituents to the consumer's mouth in the form of particles, liquid, or vapor so as to provide tobacco satisfaction to the consumer. In some circumstances, the tobacco may be integrally molded with a plastic material so that at least a portion of the tobacco is disposed in pores of the matrix.
1. A tobacco article, comprising:
a body that is wholly receivable in a mouth of a consumer, the body including a first porous polymer matrix and a saliva reservoir proximate to the first porous polymer matrix, wherein the saliva reservoir comprises a second porous matrix having a substantially greater pore volume than the first porous matrix, wherein the second porous matrix is substantially free of tobacco, wherein the body consists of the first porous matrix and the second porous matrix, the first and second porous matrix being at opposite ends of the body;
tobacco disposed in pores of the first porous polymer matrix so that, when the body is exposed to saliva, at least one of tobacco or a tobacco constituent are introduced into the saliva.
2. The article of claim 1 , wherein the second porous matrix is integrally formed with the first porous matrix.
3. The article of claim 1 , wherein the tobacco is integrally molded with the porous matrix.
4. The article of claim 3 , wherein the tobacco is integrally molded with the porous matrix during a plastic sintering process.
5. The article of claim 1 , wherein the tobacco includes tobacco extract.
6. The article of claim 1 , wherein the tobacco includes one or more flavor components.
7. The article of claim 1 , wherein the tobacco includes portions of at least one of leaves or stems of any member of the genus Nicotiana.
8. The article of claim 7 , wherein the tobacco comprises at least one of shredded tobacco, cut tobacco, granulated tobacco, or powdered tobacco.
9. The article of claim 1 , wherein the porous polymer matrix comprises a polyamide or polyolefin.