Cigarettes made with modified tobacco or designed to burn at low temperatures do not necessarily deliver on promises to make smoking safer and may even be dangerous, a panel of experts said on Thursday. Even aids meant to help people kick the habit, such as nicotine patches, gum and antidepressants, may have their own side-effects, said the committee, appointed to advise the government. Their review, published on Friday by the IOM, concludes that it is hard to say whether they work.
Several studies suggest that low-tar or light cigarettes are no such thing.
The researchers said they were worried that some people may get the idea that there are safe cigarettes or other tobacco and nicotine- containing products. He said this committee did not want to mislead anyone. Shields added, snapping his fingers. The IoM committee also looked at products designed to help smokers quit, such as nicotine patches, inhalers and nasal sprays and drugs such as antidepressants and medicines that interfere with the effects of nicotine. Dorothy Hatsukami, a tobacco researcher at the University of Minnesota , said many people use nicotine replacement devices such as patches or gum and continue to smoke.