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| health information | health news

Low-nicotine cigarettes just as harmful to health

12 June 2008

By using low-nicotine cigarettes a smoker is still inhaling harmful chemicals, while smoking a less satisfying cigarette. In that respect, low-nicotine cigarettes are a bit of a con

Amanda Sandford, Research Manager, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)

Key facts

Nicotine is the active ingredient in tobacco. It activates a receptor in the brain and if used repeatedly can lead to addiction.
Tobacco smoke contains lots of harmful chemicals, including the poisons carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide. The researchers say that cigarette smoke is made up of more than 4,000 different chemicals, about 69 of which may cause cancer.
By law, in Europe, tobacco companies are not allowed to market their products as "low" or "light", which could mislead consumers into believing these products are less harmful to health.

Low-nicotine cigarettes are just as harmful to your health as conventional cigarettes, according to new research.

A team of US researchers compared the chemicals in smoke of low-nicotine and nicotine-free cigarettes with a standard cigarette. They found that low-nicotine and nicotine-free cigarettes contained more of some chemicals and were just as toxic as conventional cigarettes.

Smoke residues from the nicotine-free and low-nicotine cigarettes seemed to be as toxic to cells and DNA as those of the conventional cigarettes.

Low-nicotine cigarettes aim to allow users to smoke as usual but reduce their intake of nicotine. The researchers say low-nicotine cigarettes are perceived by many to be a safer option than conventional cigarettes and some people may even smoke more of them to compensate for the low nicotine levels. However, the results of this study show that this is not the case and low-nicotine cigarettes are not safer.

Amanda Sandford, Research Manager at ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) told the Bupa health information team: "All cigarettes are harmful. If you're trying to quit smoking, the recommended way is to use nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)."

"By using low-nicotine cigarettes a smoker is still inhaling harmful chemicals, while smoking a less satisfying cigarette. In that respect, low-nicotine cigarettes are a bit of a con," she added.

The researchers say that more studies are needed to assess the risks of new low-nicotine cigarettes.

The laboratory study was carried out at Georgetown University, Washington DC. The researchers analysed the smoke of three types of cigarette: a nicotine-free cigarette (containing less than 0.05mg of nicotine), a low-nicotine cigarette, (containing 0.6mg of nicotine) and a conventional cigarette containing 0.8mg of nicotine. They also looked at how toxic each type of cigarette was to cells and DNA.