Light, ultra light, and low tar cigarettes hit the market in the 1960s, when it became increasingly clear that smoking was the root of many health-related evils. Touted by the tobacco industry as a healthier alternative to a not-so-healthy habit, many smokers choose these cigarettes with the assumption they aren’t as bad the full flavor ones. Is there any truth to this notion—or is it all smoke and mirrors?
The Straight Talk
The tobacco industry designed “light” cigarettes by making small holes, or vents, in the filters. Air is allowed to mix with the smoke, so less tar or nicotine is presumably inhaled by a smoker. Smoking machines, which attempt to mimic a smoker’s inhalation patterns, are the standard by which government and industry measure the amount of tar and nicotine in these cigarettes. Although the “light,” “ultra light,” and “low tar” labels are based on these mechanical measurements, they tell us very little about how much tar or nicotine smokers actually take in. In fact, the machines are wrong.
Studies have shown that light cigarette smokers often purposefully or inadvertently block the ventilation holes in the filter, thus reducing or eliminating any tar-reducing benefit. Smokers who use low-tar products also compensate by taking larger, more frequent puffs and inhaling more deeply, thereby bringing smoke and tar deeper into the lungs. Studies suggest that this practice has increased the incidence of adenocarcinoma, a previously rare lung cancer that affects the smallest part of the airways, among low-tar cigarette smokers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smokers may get as much tar and nicotine from cigarettes with low-yield tar ratings as those with higher yields. The National Cancer Institute released a report in 2001 concluding there is no health benefit from light cigarettes.
Perhaps most tellingly, the tobacco industry, according to its own documents, has known for over thirty years that light cigarettes aren’t any better than regulars. In 1974, the head of Phillip Morris research stated, “People smoke in such a way that they get much more than predicted by machine.” In 2006, when the tobacco industry was found guilty of racketeering, they were forced to stop using the light, ultra-light, and low-tar descriptors because of their deceptive connotations.
The Takeaway
Despite what many still believe—over 80 percent of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. are low-tar brands—light cigarettes aren't any healthier than regular cigarettes.
Say What? is a series created to support or debunk common health myths. If you have a question for Brie, please send it to her in care of the editor at rbrown@realgirlsmedia.com.
