Patent attributes
A smoking article is provided, having a mouth end and a distal end, including a heat source; an aerosol-forming substrate; an airflow directing element including an air-permeable segment downstream of the substrate and defining an airflow pathway; and at least one air inlet for drawing air into the segment, wherein the pathway includes a first portion extending from the inlet towards the substrate and a second portion extending from the substrate towards the mouth end, wherein the first portion is defined by a low resistance-to-draw portion of the segment that extends from proximate to the inlet to an upstream end of the segment, and the segment further includes a high resistance-to-draw portion that extends from proximate to the inlet to a downstream end of the segment, and the ratio of the resistance-to-draw of the high portion to the low portion is higher than 1:1 and lower than 50:1.