Maybe there should be a new disclaimer on packs of cigarettes. Warning: “Light” cigarettes may be EVEN MORE hazardous to your health than regular smokes.

How’s that possible? Researchers from Harvard and the University of Pittsburgh asked 12,285 former or current smokers this question: Did you ever smoke a lower-tar or lower-nicotine cigarette to reduce your health risks? More than a third, 37%, answered yes. The majority of these seemingly health-conscious smokers were female, white and highly educated.

The problem, of course, is that studies as far back as the 1980s have shown that “lights” can be just as deadly as regular cigarettes. But most people still think that light cigarettes are somehow not as unhealthy as regular ones.

This misperception seems to backfire in a particularly insidious way, according to the study published online by the American Journal of Public Health. “Statistically speaking, the odds of quitting smoking were reduced by about 50% among those people who smoked lights to reduce health risks,” explains University of Pittsburgh researcher Dr. Hilary Tindle. By age 65, this group was 76% less likely to give up smoking. “So even though smokers may hope to reduce their health risks by smoking lights, the results suggest they are doing just the opposite because they are significantly reducing their chances of quitting,” Tindle says.

By any measure, however, kicking the habit can be extremely difficult. Even when the prospect of a smoking-related illness has become a reality. A report released last week by the federal government’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that approximately 4 out of every 10 adults with emphysema still smoke as do 2 out of 10 adults who have had a stroke or suffer from asthma, high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems or diabetes.

What it Means: We all know the public service messages about smoking and there’s probably no reason to repeat them here. And yet nearly 22% of the adult U.S. population still smokes. So to those smokers who are smart enough to want to quit and haven’t found a way yet, get help or do it yourself but above all, keep trying.

From the Archive:
Sep. 29, 2005 Can Smokers Lower Cancer Risk? 
Mar. 31, 2003 What Are Your Odds?
Aug. 10, 2005 What You Need to Know on Smoking and Lung Cancer