What is Smoke?
Smoke is a mixture of airborne particles, gases, vapors, and odor-causing compounds created during combustion or smoldering. While most people notice the visible haze first, the smoke you can see is only part of the challenge. Many of the compounds responsible for lingering odor and stale indoor air remain after the visible smoke begins to clear.
At LakeAir, we view smoke as both a filtration problem and an airflow problem. Effective smoke control requires enough air movement to clean the room repeatedly, particle filtration to reduce visible haze, and activated carbon or specialty media to address odors, VOCs, and gas-phase contaminants. Understanding particle size, MERV ratings, and air changes per hour (ACH) helps explain why some smoke-control systems succeed while others struggle.
This guide explains what smoke is made of, why cigar smoke is especially challenging indoors, and the practical methods used to control smoke in cigar lounges, smoking rooms, and commercial environments.
Key Takeaway:
1. Smoke is a mixture of airborne particles, gases, vapors, and odor-causing compounds created during combustion or smoldering, and it can come from cigars, cigarettes, hookah, cooking, wildfires, and industrial processes.
What is Smoke Made Of?
Smoke is not a single substance. It is a complex airborne mixture that can include solid particles, liquid droplets, gases, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide, carbonyl compounds, and odor-active molecules created when material burns or smolders.
For air-cleaning purposes, it helps to separate smoke into two main categories. One is the particulate fraction, which creates visible haze and residue, and the other is the gas-phase fraction, which contains many of the compounds responsible for lingering odor and stale indoor air.
That distinction matters because no single technology removes every part of smoke equally well. Particle filtration handles suspended smoke particles, while activated carbon and specialty adsorbent media help reduce odor and gas-phase compounds after the particles are captured. Understanding the difference between particle filtration and gas-phase filtration helps explain why HEPA and electrostatic filtration technologies are often paired with activated carbon in smoke-control systems.
Key Takeaway:
2. Smoke is not a single substance. It can contain large particles, fine particles, liquid droplets, gases, VOCs, and many other compounds created during combustion. Understanding what is in the smoke helps determine which combination of filtration, activated carbon, and airflow is most effective for controlling it.
What is Cigar Smoke Made Of?
Cigar smoke is one of the best examples of why smoke control is rarely a one-filter problem. It contains fine particles, gases, VOCs, carbon monoxide, aromatic compounds, and other odor-causing contaminants released as tobacco burns and smolders.
In a cigar lounge or smoking room, the visible haze is only part of the challenge. Much of the lingering cigar odor comes from gas-phase compounds that remain in the air after the visible smoke begins to decline. This combination of particles and gases makes cigar smoke one of the more demanding indoor air quality problems and a useful case study for smoke control in general.
At LakeAir, we often find that lounge owners focus first on the visible smoke because that is what customers notice immediately. In practice, many long-term complaints involve odor rather than haze. A room may appear cleaner while odor-causing compounds continue to circulate through the space or settle into furnishings and finishes.
That is why effective cigar smoke control typically uses a staged approach. High-efficiency particle filtration helps reduce visible haze and smoke residue, while activated carbon and specialty adsorbent media help reduce odor and gas-phase compounds that particle filters alone cannot remove.
What Other Types of Smoke Does LakeAir Help Remove?
LakeAir smoke solutions are not limited to cigar environments. The same principles used to control cigar smoke also apply to cigarette smoke, hookah smoke, cannabis smoke, cooking smoke, wildfire smoke, and many industrial smoke or fume applications. While the source may change, the challenge is often the same: controlling airborne particles, reducing odor, and moving enough air through the space to keep contaminants from accumulating.
For residential users, smoke may come from cigarettes, cigars, cannabis, cooking, fireplaces, scented products, or wildfire intrusion. These applications typically require a combination of particle filtration and activated carbon to address both visible contaminants and lingering odor.
Commercial and industrial environments often present additional challenges. Smoke, fumes, and airborne contaminants may originate from smoking areas, welding operations, manufacturing processes, commercial kitchens, or other combustion-related activities. In these settings, proper equipment selection depends on contaminant type, airflow requirements, duty cycle, and whether the primary goal is particle control, odor control, or both.
Although the sources vary, effective smoke control almost always comes back to the same fundamentals: filtration, gas-phase adsorption, and adequate airflow.
| Smoke Source | Primary Challenge |
|---|---|
| Wildfire Smoke | PM2.5 particles and smoke infiltration |
| Cooking Smoke | Smoke particles, grease aerosols, and odors |
| Cannabis Smoke | VOCs and fine particles |
| Welding Fumes | Metal fumes and ultrafine particles |
| Soldering Fumes | Flux fumes, VOCs, and ultrafine particles |
| Mechanical Cutting | Fine dust and airborne particulates |
| Thermal Cutting | Smoke, metal fumes, VOCs, and combustion byproducts |
| Challenge | Why It Matters | Recommended Action |
|---|---|---|
| Particle Size | Smoke contains particles from visible to ultrafine | Use high-efficiency filtration |
| Airflow | Particles must pass through the filter to be captured | Provide adequate ACH |
| System Sizing | Undersized systems clean air too slowly | Match CFM to the application |
| Filter Efficiency | Higher ratings capture smaller particles | Consider MERV 14-16 or HEPA |
| Filter Loading | Captured particles reduce performance over time | Follow scheduled maintenance |
| Application | Typical Target ACH | Primary Concern |
|---|---|---|
| Hookah Lounges | 25 ACH | Heavy particulate generation |
| Cigar Lounges | 20 ACH | Continuous smoke production |
| Cigarette Smoking Areas | 15 ACH | Fine particle control |
| Welding Areas | 10-20 ACH | Metal fumes and particulates |
| Soldering Operations | 12-18 ACH | Ultrafine particulate generation |
| Thermal Cutting | 20-30 ACH | Heavy smoke and particulate load |
Why Are Smoke Particles Difficult to Remove?
Smoke particles are difficult to remove because they vary dramatically in size and concentration. Some particles are large enough to be visible, while others are microscopic and remain suspended in the air for extended periods. As smoke is continuously generated, new particles are introduced faster than many systems can remove them.
One of the most common misconceptions about smoke control is that filtration efficiency alone determines performance. In reality, airflow is often just as important. A system with excellent filtration can still perform poorly if it does not move enough air through the room. When smoke remains visible, the filtration media may not be failing at all—the system may simply be undersized for the amount of smoke being generated.
This is especially true in smoking environments, where contaminants must repeatedly circulate through the filtration system before they can be captured. The more air a system can effectively process, the faster smoke particles can be removed from the space.
Several filtration technologies can be used to capture smoke particles. HEPA filtration is commonly used where very high particle-removal efficiency is required. MERV 14, MERV 15, and MERV 16 filters can also provide excellent particle capture in many applications. However, filtration efficiency should always be evaluated alongside airflow performance, since highly restrictive filters can reduce the volume of air moving through the system.
Electrostatic filtration offers a different approach. Rather than trapping particles in disposable media, electrostatic systems use charged collection cells to capture smoke particles while maintaining relatively low resistance to airflow. As with any filtration technology, proper maintenance is essential to sustain performance.
The final challenge is filter loading. Particle filters gradually fill with captured contaminants, while electrostatic cells accumulate debris that must be cleaned away. Effective smoke-particle control requires the proper balance of airflow, filtration efficiency, system sizing, and ongoing maintenance.
Smoke Contains More Than Particles (VOCs)
When most people think about smoke, they think about the visible haze floating through the air. In reality, smoke is much more complex. Depending on the source, smoke may contain solid particles, liquid droplets, gases, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aldehydes, aromatic compounds, sulfur compounds, and many other byproducts of combustion.
These contaminants are created whenever materials burn, smolder, cook, weld, solder, melt, cut, or thermally decompose. Common sources include tobacco smoke, cannabis smoke, wildfire smoke, wood-burning appliances, commercial cooking operations, welding, soldering, laser cutting, plasma cutting, and many industrial manufacturing processes.
The visible portion of smoke is typically the particulate fraction. However, many contaminants exist in the gas phase and cannot be seen with the naked eye. For example, wildfire smoke may contain benzene and formaldehyde, cooking operations can generate acrolein and other irritating compounds, while welding and thermal cutting processes may produce ozone, nitrogen oxides, and other reactive gases.
This distinction is important because particle filters and gas-phase filters perform different jobs. High-efficiency filtration helps remove airborne particles, while activated carbon and specialty adsorbent media are used to reduce many of the gases, VOCs, and odor-causing compounds that remain after visible smoke begins to disappear.
This is why smoke problems are not always solved when a room looks clear. Many of the compounds responsible for lingering odors, stale indoor air, and occupant complaints exist in the gas phase rather than the particulate phase.
Key Takeaway: Smoke is more than visible particles. Many smoke sources also release gases, VOCs, aldehydes, and other invisible contaminants that can remain in the air long after the haze disappears.
What Chemicals Cause the Odor in Cigar Smoke?
Cigar smoke odor is not caused by a single compound. It is created by a complex mixture of gas-phase contaminants released as tobacco burns and smolders. These contaminants include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aromatic compounds, aldehydes, nitrogen-containing compounds, sulfur-containing compounds, and other combustion byproducts that contribute to the characteristic smell of cigar smoke.
Unlike many smoke sources, cigars continue producing emissions even when they are resting in an ashtray. As the tobacco slowly smolders, a continuous stream of gases and odor-causing compounds is released into the room. Some of these compounds remain airborne, while others settle onto furniture, walls, carpets, clothing, and other surfaces where they can continue releasing odors over time.
This combination of continuous smoke production, heavy particulate loading, and persistent gas-phase contamination makes cigar smoke one of the more demanding indoor air quality challenges. Effective control typically requires a combination of particle filtration, gas-phase filtration, adequate airflow, and ongoing maintenance.
Because cigar smoke contains both visible particles and invisible gases, removing the haze does not always eliminate the odor. In many cigar lounges and smoking rooms, gas-phase contaminants become the limiting factor long after the visible smoke has been reduced.
.
| Compound | Typical Emission (mg/cigar) | Best Media | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formaldehyde | 1.0 – 1.5 | Activated Alumina / Potassium Permanganate | Common combustion byproduct associated with smoke irritation and indoor air quality concerns. |
| Acetaldehyde | 2.0 – 3.0 | Potassium Permanganate | One of the more abundant aldehydes found in tobacco smoke. |
| Benzene | 0.05 – 0.10 | Activated Carbon | Aromatic VOC produced during incomplete combustion. |
| Toluene | 0.01 – 0.20 | Activated Carbon | Hydrocarbon VOC that contributes to smoke odor and indoor air contamination. |
| Xylene (Total) | 0.05 – 0.15 | Activated Carbon | Aromatic compounds commonly associated with combustion emissions. |
| Naphthalene | 0.01 – 0.05 | Activated Carbon | PAH associated with tobacco smoke and lingering odors. |
| Ammonia | Varies | Zeolite | Common alkaline odor compound effectively captured by zeolite media. |
| Hydrogen Sulfide | Trace | Zeolite / Potassium Permanganate | Sulfur-based odor compound often associated with persistent nuisance odors. |
What Removes Cigar Odors?
Removing visible smoke is only part of the challenge. Many of the compounds responsible for lingering smoke odors are gases or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that pass through particle filters. While HEPA filters and electrostatic collectors are excellent at capturing airborne particles, they are not designed to remove most gas-phase contaminants.
This is where adsorbent media come into play. Activated carbon is the most common choice for smoke control because it is highly effective at adsorbing many of the organic compounds found in cigar smoke, cigarette smoke, cannabis smoke, cooking emissions, and other combustion-related contaminants. Its enormous internal surface area provides countless locations where odor-causing molecules can attach and remain trapped as air passes through the filter.
Not all odorous compounds behave the same way, however. Some contaminants are more difficult for activated carbon to capture efficiently. Certain aldehydes, sulfur compounds, ammonia compounds, and other reactive gases may require specialty media designed for those specific challenges. Zeolite is often used where ammonia or selected sulfur compounds are present, while activated alumina and potassium permanganate media are commonly applied to formaldehyde, aldehydes, acid gases, and other chemically reactive contaminants.
For this reason, advanced air-cleaning systems often use blended media beds that combine activated carbon with specialty adsorbents. Rather than relying on a single media type, the goal is to match the filtration media to the contaminants present. This allows the system to address a broader range of odors and gas-phase pollutants than activated carbon alone.
At LakeAir, we generally view odor control the same way we view particle filtration: understanding the contaminant comes first. The more closely the filtration media matches the chemistry of the pollutants being removed, the more effective the overall system will be. That’s why some applications perform exceptionally well with activated carbon alone, while others benefit from specialized media blends designed for specific gases and odors.
What Airflow Is Needed for Cigar Smoke?
For smoke-heavy environments, airflow is just as important as filtration. Even the most efficient filter can only clean the air that actually passes through it. If smoke remains trapped in corners, dead zones, or stagnant areas of the room, filtration alone cannot solve the problem.
That is why Air Changes per Hour (ACH) is one of the most important measurements in smoke control. ACH describes how many times the air within a room passes through the air-cleaning system each hour. As a general guideline, LakeAir often recommends approximately 15 ACH for cigarette-smoking environments, 20 ACH for cigar lounges and smoking rooms, and 25 ACH for hookah applications where smoke concentrations are typically much higher.
These numbers are not hard rules. The ideal airflow depends on room size, ceiling height, occupancy, smoking intensity, and the desired level of smoke control. A system that performs well in a small private smoking room may be undersized for a large commercial cigar lounge if the airflow is not scaled appropriately.
In our experience, many smoke-control problems are actually airflow problems. Increasing filtration efficiency helps, but moving enough air through the room is often what transforms a system from acceptable to exceptional. That is why we encourage customers to evaluate both filtration performance and room ACH when designing a smoke-control solution.
Key Takeaway: Filtration removes contaminants, but airflow determines how quickly contaminated air reaches the filtration system. Effective smoke control requires both adequate filtration and sufficient air changes per hour (ACH).
Which LakeAir Solution Fits Smoke Removal?
The products from LakeAir start with technology. Different type of smokes beg for different solutions:
- Welding Smoke almost always is best handled by Electrostatic air purification
- Tobacco Smoke is universally best tackled with True HEPA
- When the volume of smoke is intense Multiple Electrostatic Cells is the only way to go.
- When the smoke is not heavy and the budget is light, MERV 15 filtration makes a lot of sense.
Why So Many LakeAir Mounting Options?
Most Commercial Air Purifiers have One or Two options. Most are ugly boxes, we have those too. Modern Cigar Lounges are looking to elevate the smoking experience. To achieve this on the air filtration end, The modern lounge owner wants limit or eliminate the presence of air purification equipment.
To aid in this effort LakeAir offers the LAFC-RC2 HEPA units that mount flush into the ceiling and the WM-RC2 HEPA that Mounts flush into the walls. This is a good step forward, but to truly eliminate air purifier presence and sound, A new solution was needed. That is why LakeAir is pioneering the Ducted Smoke Eater (DSE). The LAAS 3200 can be placed 40 feet away from Cigar lounge. It can be fitted with noise canceling technology to provide whisper quiet air that is cleaner than the air outside.