DID YOU KNOW?

Nicotine, a naturally occuring drug found in all forms of tobacco is highly addictive—as addictive as heroin and cocaine.

Why is it so easy to get hooked on cigarettes? Cigarettes contain nicotine, a highly addictive drug.

Nicotine is a naturally occurring drug found in all forms of tobacco.
Nicotine is highly addictive—as addictive as heroin and cocaine.
Regular use of tobacco products leads to addiction in a high proportion of users.
Addiction is often accompanied by physical and psychological dependence on the substance.
It is absorbed readily from tobacco smoke in the lungs and from oral tobacco in the mouth or nose, and it rapidly spreads throughout the body.

What is a mentholated cigarette? As if nicotine wasn't enough, companies put menthol in cigarettes to flavor it but it also has some very negative health effects. Here are some of the things that researchers have said about mentholated cigarettes.

"Smokers of menthol cigarettes tend to inhale more deeply because menthol has an anesthetic and cooling effect." (7)
—Dr. Karen Ahijevych, The Ohio State University
"Because menthol alters the metabolism of carcinogens in tobacco smoke, it may be the reason for greater mortality and morbidity among menthol smokers." (7)
—Dr. Jasjit S. Ahluwalia, University of Kansas
"Mentholated cigarettes are associated with higher cotinine levels and carbon monoxide concentrations than non-mentholated cigarettes." (7)
—Dr. Pamela I. Clark, Journal of Chest Physicians
"Research has shown that smokers of low- and medium-nicotine menthol cigarettes have as much as three times the exposure to toxic and cancer-inducing agents as smokers of non-menthol cigarettes with comparable nicotine content." (7)
—Dr. Karam El-Bayoumy, American Health Foundation

Light Cigarettes: Less Health Risks or Myth?
Many smokers choose “low-tar,” “mild,” or “light” cigarettes because they think that light cigarettes are less harmful and less addictive than “regular” cigarettes. (1,2) In fact, one study found that, on average, smokers believed that light cigarettes were 25% safer. (2)

Unfortunately, it’s just not true. Light cigarettes are just as dangerous as “regular” ones.

So what about the lower tar and nicotine numbers on light cigarette packs?

The FTC’s testing method makes use of “smoking machines” to analyze the components in cigarette smoke. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines, cigarettes can be labeled “light” if they measure fewer than 10 milligrams of tar and 0.8 milligrams of nicotine. The problem is that independent studies have shown that the FTC’s testing method does not mimic real-life smoking behaviors. In other words, people don’t smoke like machines.

In fact, smokers who switch to low-tar or low-nicotine cigarettes from regular cigarettes tend to "compensate" for the lower nicotine levels by inhaling more deeply; taking larger, more rapid, or more frequent puffs; or by increasing the number of cigarettes they smoke per day, thus canceling any possible benefit from smoking "low-tar" cigarettes.

In addition, when the FTC’s machines test cigarettes, they leave the vents holes in the filter uncovered. Many smokers, however, inadvertently block the tiny vent holes with their lips or fingers—which basically turns the light cigarette into a regular cigarette by lessening the impact of the vents.

The bottom line is this: people who switch to low-tar or light cigarettes from regular cigarettes are likely to inhale the same amount of cancer-causing toxins, and they remain at high risk for developing both smoking-related cancers and other diseases. (3)

• The industry’s own documents show that companies were well aware that smokers of light cigarettes compensated by taking bigger puffs

• Documents also show that big tobacco knew early on of the difference between machine-measured yields of tar and nicotine and what smokers actually inhale

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. But we’ll say it again anyway: The only proven way to reduce your risk of smoking-related disease is to quit smoking entirely. (5)

references | updated: 10.31.2007

references

Etter JF, Kozlowski LT, Perneger TV. What smokers believe about light and ultralight cigarettes. Prev Med. 2003 Jan;36(1):92-8.
Shiffman S, Pillitteri JL, Burton SL, Rohay JM, Gitchell JG. Smokers' beliefs about "Light" and "Ultra Light" cigarettes. Tob Control. 2001;10 Suppl 1:i17-23.
Smoking and Tobacco Control Monographs, Monograph 13: Risks Associated with Smoking Cigarettes with Low Tar Machine-Measured Yields of Tar and Nicotine. U.S. department of health and human services Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute, 2001.
Hyland A, Hughes JR, Farrelly M, Cummings KM. Switching to lower tar cigarettes does not increase or decrease the likelihood of future quit attempts or cessation. Nicotine Tob Res. 2003 Oct;5(5):665-71.
The Truth About "Light" Cigarettes: Questions and Answers, National Caner Research Institute, Retrieved December 15, 2004 from http://cis.nci.nih.gov/fact/3_74.htm.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fact Sheet, Tobacco Brand Preferences. Retrieved October 31, 2007 from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/Factsheets/tobacco_brand_pref.htm.
National Association of African Americans For Positive Imagery. Fact Sheet, Methnol in Cigarettes. Retrieved October 31, 2007 from http://www.naaapi.org/documents/menthol_factsht.asp.

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