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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office on Smoking and Health
Tel: 1-800-CDC-INFO
(1-800-232-4636)
TTY: 1-888-232-6348
E-mail: tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov
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Fact Sheet
Low-Yield Cigarettes and Cigarette-Like Products
(April 2007)
Cigarette manufacturers have developed cigarettes that deliver less tar
or nicotine in standardized machine measurements.1,2 Brands with
machine-measured lower tar levels (i.e., low-yield cigarettes) have been
marketed as reduced-risk cigarettes, using terms such as "light" and "ultra-light."1
The tobacco industry recently introduced "cigarette-like" products, such
as Eclipse® and Advance™.3 Low-yield cigarettes and cigarette-like
products are examples of a classification of products referred to as "potentially
reduced-exposure products" or PREPs.2
Cigarette Design and Compensatory Smoking
- Tar refers to the total particulate matter in smoke, excluding water
and alkaloid compounds such as nicotine, as measured by using a standardized
protocol on a smoking machine.4
- Cigarette brands that yield approximately 1–6 mg of tar are
generally called "ultra-light." Those with approximately 6–15 mg of
tar are called "light," and brands yielding more than 15 mg tar are
called "regular" or "full flavor."1
- Ventilated cigarette filters are the major innovation behind low-yield
cigarettes. Filter vents dilute smoke with air and reduce standard yields
of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide.1 Currently, 99%
of all cigarettes are filtered.5
- During 1968–1998, the average yield of tar in cigarettes decreased
44%. The average nicotine yield decreased 34%.4
- Many smokers block the vents or compensate when smoking low-yield
cigarettes, thus inhaling more tar and nicotine than measured by machines.6
Smokers may get as much tar and nicotine from cigarettes with low-yield
ratings as those with higher yields.1,4
Characteristics of Smokers Who Use Low-Yield Cigarettes
- Use of low-tar products increases dramatically as age, education
level, and income level increase, and is higher among women than men.1
- Many smokers consider smoking low-yield cigarettes, menthol cigarettes,
or additive-free cigarettes to be safer than smoking regular cigarettes.1,2
- Many smokers of low-tar cigarettes may have switched to such brands
instead of quitting.6 Smokers may be misled by the implied
promise of reduced toxicity underlying the marketing of such brands.6
Health Risks of Low-Yield Cigarettes
- The risk for lung cancer is only slightly lower with low tar cigarettes, and reduced tar levels have little, if any, effect on other lung diseases or heart disease.6
- Existing research does not support recommending that smokers switch to low-yield cigarette brands.1 There is no convincing evidence that changes in cigarette design have resulted in an important decrease in the diseases caused by cigarettes.1
References
- National Cancer Institute.
Risks Associated with Smoking Cigarettes with Low Machine-Measured
Yields of Tar and Nicotine. Smoking and Tobacco Control
Monograph 13. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute;
2001 [cited 2005 Nov 6]. NIH Pub. No. 02-5974.
- Institute of Medicine.
Clearing the Smoke: Assessing the Science Base for Tobacco Harm
Prevention. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2001 [cited 2005 Nov 6].
- Breland AB, Evans SE,
Buchhalter AR, Eissenberg T.
Acute effects of Advance™: A Potential
Reduced Exposure Product for Smokers.
Tobacco Control. 2002;11:376–378 [cited 2005 Nov 6].
- Federal Trade Commission.
"Tar," Nicotine, and Carbon Monoxide of the 1294 Varieties of
Domestic Cigarettes for the Year 1998.
(PDF–440KB)
Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission; 2000 [cited 2005 Nov 6].
- Federal Trade Commission.
Cigarette Report for 2004 and 2005.
(PDF–216KB)
Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission; 2007 [cited 2007 Apr 30].
Available from: http://www.ftc.gov/reports/tobacco/2007cigarette2004-2005.pdf.
- U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services.
Reducing
Tobacco Use: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center
for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking
and Health; 2000 [cited 2005 Nov 6].
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office on Smoking and Health
E-mail: tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov
Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO
Media Inquiries: Contact CDC's Office on Smoking and Health press
line at 770-488-5493.
Page last updated 11/01/2005