title: Reduced tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide exposure while smoking ultralow- but not low-yield cigarettes.
abstract: An unresolved public health issue is whether some modern cigarettes are less hazardous than others and whether patients who cannot stop smoking should be advised to switch to lower-yield cigarettes. We studied "tar" (estimated by urine mutagenicity), nicotine, and carbon monoxide exposure in habitual smokers switched from their usual brand to high- (15 mg of tar), low- (5 mg of tar), or ultralow-yield (1 mg of tar) cigarettes. There were no differences in exposure comparing high- or low-yield cigarettes, but tar and nicotine exposures were reduced by 49% and 56%, respectively, and carbon monoxide exposure by 36% while smoking ultralow-yield cigarettes. Similarly, in 248 subjects smoking their self-selected brand, nicotine intake, estimated by blood concentrations of its metabolite cotinine, was 40% lower in those who smoked ultralow but no different in those smoking higher yields of cigarettes. Our data indicate that ultralow-yield cigarettes do deliver substantial doses of tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide, but that exposures are considerably less than for other cigarettes.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003367:Cotinine / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009153:Mutagens / Q000652:urine; D009538:Nicotine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012907:Smoking; D013638:Tars / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013861:Thiocyanates / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D009153:Mutagens; D013638:Tars; D013861:Thiocyanates; D009538:Nicotine; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D003367:Cotinine