Smokers can now quit belching addictive cigarette smoke with the help of reduced-nicotine cigars, a new study has learned.
According to Design & Trend, the study has found that individuals who smoke cigarettes with lower nicotine content than the standard one will eventually get rid of the addictive effects of the compound because they will not be compelled to smoke more despite they are consuming less nicotine amounts on their daily intake.
Nicotine is of course the active compound in cigarettes that makes smoking extremely addicting and makes it difficult for smokers to quit their unhealthy habit.
Daily Digest News reported how the study on reduced-nicotine cigarettes was staged and realized.
"The unblinded study involved 72 smokers from ages 18 to 65, who were asked to smoke cigarettes with varying amounts of nicotine for a one month period. They smoked regular cigarettes, with nicotine emission levels of 1.2 milligrams (mg) each for one week to obtain a control data set, then switched to Quest, types of reduced-nicotine cigarettes for the duration of the remaining three weeks. The nicotine content of the cigarettes reduced gradually by week, containing 0.6 mg of nicotine in week two, 0.3 mg in week three and 0.05 mg or less in week four."
Researchers reportedly asked the participants to present urine and breath samples at the end of each week. Apart from this, they were also made to answer a number of questions regarding their behavior and outlook towards the sudden switch from regular cigarettes to Quest.
The results of the study, which was published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, show that there were no changes on the number of cigarettes the participants smoked. The levels of carbon monoxide in their breaths also remain unchanged.
Hence, the research team maintained that smokers will not put extra effort to smoke more cigarettes despite the major decrease on their daily intake of nicotine.
Smokers are unable or unwilling to compensate when there is markedly less nicotine in the cigarette and when the experience of smoking is far less rewarding," said David Hammond, associate professor in the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo and the head of the research team.
"As a result of the 2009 Tobacco Act, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the mandate to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes to negligible amounts," Hammond noted.
What do you think of the possible favorable effects of using reduced-nicotine cigarettes over standard cigarettes? Sound off in the comments section below.
