Deromanticizer?

Is that something that acts like the infamous "bromide" supposedly laced into squaddies' cups of tea?

When I was in the Merchant Navy, I noticed that the cigarettes bought on board ship burned a little more quickly that shore-side cigs, and produced a much whiter ash. I was told that they included saltpeter as a preservative vs the briney air.

Marlboro noticeably had tiny rings around them that were supposed to contain "gunpowder" to help them burn more regularly and neatly. I seem to recall watching them closely and noticing a little "flaring" as each ring was reached. I haven't thought about this for years and my memory may be a bit skewed on this, or I may have been fed "duff gen".

>>What exactly is salt peter? I know it only as the proverbial deromanticizer.
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>Potassium Nitrate (KNO3)... I think it can be used as a fertilizer as well as a preservative and allegedly as a deromanticizer. May also be used to make gunpowder - or at least home made fireworks.