The Cigarette Testing Laboratory ensures that the tar and nicotine yields of cigarettes are within statutory limits. It is therefore the reference laboratory for analytical and advisory services to Health Products Regulation Group and private sectors for the purpose of implementing the Smoking (Control of Advertisement and Sale of Tobacco) Act.

The Act limits the tar and nicotine yields of cigarette smoke to 15 mg and 1.3 mg per cigarette for cigarettes that can be sold in Singapore.

The laboratory also provides analytical service to the Singapore Customs in the analysis of contraband tobacco under the Customs Act.

The Cigarette Testing Laboratory adopts the international ISO protocols to test the tar and nicotine yields of cigarettes, and takes part in the Asia Collaborative Study on tar and nicotine in cigarettes together with about 40 laboratories from the Asia Pacific region and Europe. The collaborative study provides a mean for the laboratory to benchmark its analytical performance with other advanced laboratories in the world.

The laboratory is currently exploring the expansion of its scope of service to include the testing of carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke as well as side stream smoke constituents such as benzene, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.