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Genuinely 'less deadly cigarettes' would help the smokers that decide notto quit

Responding to news of new tobacco treatment processes that remove harmfulcancer-causing nitrosamines from cigarette smoke, ASH said this is a greatdevelopment and the way that future regulation of cigarettes must go.

Clive Bates Director of ASH said: "We know there will never be a safecigarette, but that doesn't mean they can't be made less deadly. If it'spossible for a tiny American company to cut out known cancer causing chemicalsin cigarettes, then the Government should force all the British manufacturers todo it too."

ASH acknowledged the danger that these products might be seen as 'safe'.The answer is to force all of the companies to use this approach throughregulation so that this becomes a common minimum safety standard.

Bates commented: "The danger is that these developments will be seen as'safer cigarettes', that might reassure some people and reduce theirmotivation to quit. To stop that happening the Government should require allmanufacturers to use this technology and tightly regulate any marketing claimsor branding which attempts to suggest that these products are somehowsafe."

ASH said that this is an important development because even if the Governmentachieves its targets in the White Paper, Smoking Kills, then about one infour (24%) of adults will still be smoking in 2010.

Bates added: "Even if the drive to help smokers quit succeeds beyond allexpectations, at least one in six adults will still be smoking for theforeseeable future. Reducing the harm caused by each cigarette will help thosethat continue to smoke. We know that most long-term smokers are concentrated inthe poorest groups in society so this is important response to healthinequalities."

ASH stressed that this approach was far better than the discredited 'lowtar' cigarettes such as Silk Cut and Marlboro Lights.

"So-called 'light' cigarettes have seriously deceived consumersbecause they are only low-tar when smoked by machines. People are not machines,and smoke them more intensively to get the nicotine they need for a satisfactoryhit."

END 

Notes to the editor

See ASH's expose of Low Tar cigarettes at: www.ash.org.uk/papers/big-one.html

See Star Scientific web site: www.starscientific.com

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