Smoking is a way to deal with things that are hard to deal with. It is a coping mechanism.

Researchers found that low nicotine and nicotine-free cigarettes are not less harmful than tax free regular cigarettes. Researchers in Toxicology added that smokers who smoke low nicotine and nicotine-free cigarettes can reduce exposure to some toxicants, but exposure to others is greater.

The researchers, from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, investigated the low nicotine and nicotine-free cigarettes produced by Vector Tobacco, under the trade name Quest.

Researchers found that these tobacco products have been sold since 2003 and advertising leads the consumer to believe that they are less harmful, less carcinogenic, and less addictive. Consumers believed that these are safer cigarettes, and they may smoke more of them or inhale more smoke to compensate for low nicotine yields.

The researchers also analyzed the smoke chemistry and tested the genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of the condensates. According to a study, concentrations of the nitro amines specific to tobacco and some volatile organic compounds in Quest cigarette smoke were lower, but the concentrations of aromatic amines were higher.

The researchers said: “Our studies did not show that low nicotine or nicotine-free cigarettes would have less toxicity in human primary bronchial epithelial cells.”

Even the toxicological analysis did not indicate that low nicotine and nicotine-free Quest cigarettes have less adverse toxicological effects in the laboratory than conventional cigarettes.

This article should be drawn to the attention of the consumers and policy makers.