Harm-reduction Cigarettes Are More Toxic Than Traditional Cigarettes, UCR Study Finds
Posted Dec 20 2008 5:42pm
Typically, tobacco companies market harm-reduction cigarettes as being safer than traditional “full-flavored” brands, leading many smokers to conclude that the use of harm-reduction brands lowers their exposure to toxicants.
But a UC Riverside study now shows that smoke from these “light” or “low-yield” harm-reduction cigarettes retains toxicity and that this toxicity can affect prenatal development.
“Many chemicals found in harm-reduction cigarette smoke have not been tested, and some are listed by manufacturers as safe,” said Prue Talbot, a professor of cell biology who led the study. “But our tests on mice clearly show that these chemicals adversely affect reproduction and associated development processes. The effects are likely to be the same in humans, in which case pregnant women would be particularly vulnerable to the effect of smoke from these cigarettes.”
Typically, tobacco companies market harm-reduction cigarettes as being safer than traditional “full-flavored” brands, leading many smokers to conclude that the use of harm-reduction brands lowers their exposure to toxicants.
But a UC Riverside study now shows that smoke from these “light” or “low-yield” harm-reduction cigarettes retains toxicity and that this toxicity can affect prenatal development.
“Many chemicals found in harm-reduction cigarette smoke have not been tested, and some are listed by manufacturers as safe,” said Prue Talbot, a professor of cell biology who led the study. “But our tests on mice clearly show that these chemicals adversely affect reproduction and associated development processes. The effects are likely to be the same in humans, in which case pregnant women would be particularly vulnerable to the effect of smoke from these cigarettes.”
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