Tobacco Documents Online

q Bostori Evening Globe Monday, May 8, 1978 Harvard study suggests. . ~ low, tar cl ~_ ~ ~ aretter, ~s~~ ,,~ ,, ~ ~ - By Richard A. Knox The effort to reduce tar and nicotine is predicated . Globe Staff --- -- - research thpt demonstrated a higher Incldence'of Smokers Who switch to ne low tar and nicotine canoer in mice after cigarette tar, the sticky residue - .s cigarettes, thinking them sat than their old brands, of tobaccoemoke, was painted on the animals' bodies. , may be deceiving themselves and possibly even rals- There are no human studies suggesting that tar ingtheir risk of smoking-related disease. and nicotine alone are the hazardous constituents'of A Harvard stu4y has found that smokers uncon- cigarette smoke. Some researchers believe that part . scioualy alter their smoking behavior when' given of the risk n(ay be related to the gas phase of to_ba_c_c_o_ `. high tar and low tar cigarettes without knowing smoke. - --- -- . which was which. Most smokers in the study consist- The gas phase contains carbon monoxide; a class - - ently held the smoke from the low tar cigarettes in - -- - of compounds that rocently has been shown to disable their lungs a longer time in in apparent effort to ex- the cells that attack disease organizma Invading thF tract more satisfaction from them. , lungs; and possibly also unidentified yhemicali that The results, reported last vrcek at a meeting In might cause cancer. A group of Swiss scjentists dem- San Francisco of the American Federation for Clini- onstratedin 1974 that something in thegae phase ol cal Research, constitute some of the first evidencei cigarette smoke caused cancerous changes in human undermining the tobacco industry's recent advertis- lung tissue grown in laboratory dishe_ s. - ing that implies low tar and ultra a low tar cigarettes The gas phase of even the lowest tar and nicollne .may be safer. ~ I brands is virtually the same as that of the older, hy- - ~ The study, which invo_Ived about 30 smokers over pothetically more 1(azardous brande. N the past two years, was conducted by the Harvard _ In a recent review of tht effort to produce a s,afer University Tobacco and Health Research Program, ram, a ----- - - ear-old, $1 million-a- ear project funded b v+garette British researcher David M. Conning noted: six ~ _y . y--- p- - ~. Y the ".It might be premature to conclude that reducti4n of ---- ---- National Institutes of Health and a rou of seven p t (tar) l will render the product tobacco companies. The project is directed by Dr. safe ... Itmay tbe so, as far as mouse skin is con- Cary L. Huber of the Beth Israel Hospital. : cerned, but those responsible for the safety of their Dr. Ami Rubin, an Israeli researcher~ working product to the human smoker must take account of ------- ---- - ------ - - . temporarily in Huber'a laboratory, reported that reg- the specific activity of the (tar) and of the interac- ular pack-a-day smokers consistently altered their in- tions with the vapor phase."halatUon patterns when given low tar cigarettes. - - ' Their breathing patterns were monitored by an unob- strusive technique without-the subjects knowing what was being measured. . Rubin, reporting on part of the results, said that eight out of 10 smokers held their breath longer when they smoked low tar c_igarettes,while two decreased the-length of time they held the smoke in their lungs. . "We feel these findings support the hypothesis • that nicotine content of the tobacco may- modify smoking behavior, and that in our limited study the smokers may titrate (adjust) their nicotine require- ment while smoking low nicotine cigarettes_ by keep- ingthe smoke in their lungs for a_-longer period of time," Rubin concluded.  zz4o94co

The medics4 director of' the-Tobacco Institute, a! Washingtonrbased irtterest, group for the industry, said that the Boston research group appears to con- firm other studies which indicate "that people smoke for nicotine and that 'they self-regulate their own dose levels." But,,he'added: "So what?"', Dr. Charles Waite, the Tobacco Institute, doctor, said he' had not seen the research report buu com- mented that it may have been flawe& by the small ]number of smokers involved and! the artificialr' situa- tion in which their smoking behavior was testedl Waite also said that cigarette companies have nott implied in their advertising, that' low tar cigarettes i " are safer. "People wha worship at the temple of' -health and'~ those, who think thatl by intervening, in i their own, lifestyle they're going, to live longer may believe that;"` Waite said. "But I' don't think there s •been any assurance from the companies that: the low= ~ er tar and-nicotine;cigarettes are any safer. ;~"I'in, told that the idea of "selIing something is give people what they wanti - or what they think~ j' -they want," Waite added. "The companies are fairly ~, perceptive-and ife there is a consu7ner demand, why ' shouldn't they satisfy it?"' , " The Harvard project was able to classify smokers into f'our categories according,to,their inherent smok- ing patterns. "Deep inhalers"' consistently inhaied_ puffs that were two to four times as large as their normall breathing, volumes at~ rest: "Breath holders" customarily heldthe smoke in.their lungs for a longer period„simil'ar to the way many people smoke mari, juana "PuYgers" invariably empty their lungs almost ~ entarely-. in a vigorous exhalation. And "shallow inhalers," barely take any sVaoke into their lungs at a11!- even if'they have been pack-a.day smokers for , years • _ The existence of' this inhalation-exhalation. "fingerprimt" for each smoker enabled the research- , ers to spot. shifts,in smoking behavior tledl to. the type ~ of cigarette he or she was given. Rather than use brarid name cigarettes, the re- searchers: usedo two reference cigarettes,, one with a tar and nicotine content, as high, as anything, on the market, whiie. the other corresponded to the newest ultra low tar and nicotine brands. The Harvard researchers are eurrently pursuing their hunch that the way a! smoker inhales is related „' to his risk of developing, lung disease. ' ' Coupled with,'recentBritish f'indings that people who switch to. low taa- and hicotine brands aPso tend to! smoke more.cigarettes to satisfy their.nieotine craving;, the new~ find'ing suggests that "saf'er" ciga- re.ttes n~ay not pose a, lower healih risk than their high tari•and"nicotine predecessors. The effort bX US' and British cigarette companies ~ , to reduce tar and-nicotine contentin their products goes back nearly a quarter-centuiry. B'etiween.195& and' . 1975, the t'ar, ccontent of U'S' cigarette brands was re- duced from 43,' milligrams per cigarette to 18 milIi- grams; ow the average. More recently, manufacturers, have marketed brands containing,only 7.3 rmil'ligrams of tat and .53' milligrams of~ nicotine, on average. Tar ancl~ nicotine, as constituents of' the "particu~.I late,"' or solid: phase, of' tobacco smoke, are li'nked'C thaV is, when tar is. removed, nicotine content goes d'own too: Most' smokers - but not, necessarily all - presumably crave the effer,ts of! nicotine for its effects on the nervous sy,stem, Newer low tar brands may comprise nearly a quarter of'the;20 billion-a-year US cigarette market, with new versions coming,out at a fast pace. Follow- ing, the assumption that: they may be less hazardous, Sen, Edward M.,Kennedy (D~Mass,) andlothers have proposed' thatl high~ tar and~ nicotine cigarettes be itaxed~ at a higher rate 2o encourage smokers to switch ~ - a proposal, that Huber believes is premature: "We don't have enough data to make that assumption,"'the Harvard! researcher saidJ