According to a recent Harvard School of Public Health study U.S. tobacco industry boosted levels of nicotine in cigarettes over a seven-year period. The study found that nicotine content in cigarettes has risen by 11 percent from 1998 to 2005, an average of 1.6 percent each year.
This independent analysis, based on data submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) that tracked nicotine content in major American cigarette brands since 1997. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) extended the analysis to:
- ascertain how manufacturers accomplished the increase -- not only by intensifying the concentration of nicotine in the tobacco but also by modifying several design features of cigarettes to increase the number of puffs per cigarette. The end result is a product that is potentially more addictive.
- examine all market categories -- finding that smoke nicotine yields were increased in the cigarettes of each of the four major manufacturers and across all the major cigarette market categories (e.g. mentholated, non-mentholated, full-flavor, light, ultralight).
Cigarette smoking causes an estimated 438,000 premature deaths (or about 1 of every 5 deaths) annually in the U.S., and approximately 900,000 persons become addicted to smoking each year.
In conclusion, according to the HSPH researchers, the extended analysis of MDPH data has demonstrated its potential to reveal undisclosed hazards to human health. They suggest that MDPH amend its unique reporting requirements to include more information about cigarette and smokeless tobacco product design features that affect nicotine delivery - as well as testing of a sample of brands for the actual delivery of nicotine to the body.
Digg
Reddit
Slashdot