Background and challenges to implementation:
Actual absorption dose of nicotine or tar from a cigarette could be different according to smokers' smoking topography. Different topographic characteristics, i. e., puff volume or puff frequency are applied to a standard operating procedure for intense simulation test of smoking in Canada, US, and ISO regimen. However, in South Korea, lack of smoking topography information limits estimation of intake dose of toxic or harmful chemicals from smoking and its health effect. In this study, we measured Korean smokers' topography and evaluated its characteristics.

Intervention or response:
Under a convenient sampling design, we recruited 300 adult smokers (male:250, female: 50). Using CReSS pocket device (BORGWALDT, Richmond, VA 23237, USA), we obtained distributions of puff volume, puff duration, puff interval, etc. from their cigarettes smoked. For those who completed his/her topograph test, we collected urine samples for measurement of cotinine, OH-cotinine and NNAL using LCMSMS.

Results and lessons learnt:
Smokers using cigarettes with higher amount of nicotine (HAN) (>0.1 mg) tend to have lower puff counts (15.0 (13.0 ~ 18.0) than those smokers (17.0 (15.0 ~ 21.0) smoked cigarettes with lower amount of nicotine (LAN) (≤0.1mg). Controlling for the number of cigarettes smoked, Korean smokers smoked with shorter inter puff interval than Whites. Total puff volume per day were similar between male and female smokers indicating the amount of toxic components inhaled from smoking might be similar between male and female smokers.

Conclusions and key recommendations:
This study provides quantitative evidence that Korean smokers smoking cigarettes with shorter interval.