Abstract: Sheet material especially useful in forming wrappers for smokeable articles such as cigarettes that results in reduced sidestream smoke. The sheet is formed by incorporating as a filler in a cellulosic web an amount of high (at least about 20 M.sup.2 /g) superficial surface area filler in the range generally of about 5 to 50 percent by weight in the finished sheet resulting in a web superficial surface area of at least about 80 M.sup.2 per square meter of web. The cellulosic material may be flax fiber or other natural cellulosic fibers conventionally used for such wrappers. Additional fillers may be used up to a total of about 50 percent, and burn modifier salts included. Examples of salts include the sodium or potassium salts of acids such as carbonic, formic, acetic, propionic, malic, lactic, glycolic, citric, tartaric, fumaric, oxalic, malonic, succinic, nitric, and phosphoric. The sheet can be formed by any conventional papermaking method.

Abstract: Wrappers for smoking articles providing reduced ignition proclivity or self-extinguishing properties to the resultant smoking articles. The wrapper materials contain band areas of low inherent BMI in the range from about 0 to about 4 cm.sup.-1. Preferred embodiments include wrappers wherein bands of paper material with reduced filler content are provided to produce a BMI in the range of from about 0 to about 2 cm.sup.-1 in the band areas and the resulting smoking articles are self-extinguishing in the banded zones. The width of the bands may be in the range of from about 2 to about 20 millimeters and, for self-extinguishing properties, are preferably at least about 6 millimeters. The resulting smoking articles are also within the scope of the present invention.

Abstract: The invention is an improved wrapper construction for smoking articles such as cigarettes resulting in a reduced tendency to ignite combustible materials accidentally or carelessly coming into contact with the lit cigarette. The wrapper constructions and smoking articles of the invention have a specially designed structure which causes a cigarette to go out quickly when in contact with a substrate, including many commonly-encountered substrates made of combustible materials. This structure is characterized by a Burn Mode Index ("BMI") as defined for the wrapper of between about 1.5 cm.sup.-1 and 5.0 cm.sup.-1 for a single wrap embodiment. For an alternative double wrapped embodiment, the outer wrap will have a BMI in the range of from about 2.0 cm.sup.-1 to about 40 cm.sup.-1 depending on the BMI of the inner wrap which may vary between about 0.1 cm.sup.-1 to 4.0 cm.sup.-1.