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Exploring the History of Medicine, Part 51: Florence, Part 31
December 1, 2017
10. The Deception of "Mild" and "Light" Cigarettes
Let’s continue discussing just how harmful tobacco is.
The nicotine and tar levels displayed on cigarette packages are calculated based on the amount collected when a machine smokes a cigarette under standardized conditions.
Cigarettes labeled as “mild” or “light” are designed with features like small air holes in the sides of the filter and paper that allows air to pass through.
These tricks cause the smoke to be diluted during machine testing, making the nicotine and tar levels appear lower.
In reality, during typical smoking, about 1 mg of nicotine is absorbed into the body from a single cigarette.
If this amount is not absorbed, the brain’s reward system is not activated, and smokers do not feel satisfied.
Whether it’s a “mild” or “light” cigarette with a machine-measured nicotine yield of 0.1 mg, or a regular cigarette with a nicotine yield of 1 mg or more, the actual amount of nicotine absorbed into the smoker’s body is always about 1 mg.
For smokers, there’s no point in smoking if the brain’s reward system isn’t triggered to provide satisfaction.
This is why, regardless of the type of cigarette, smokers end up absorbing the same amount of nicotine: 1 mg.
As a result, smokers of “mild” or “light” cigarettes must resort to what’s called compensatory smoking.
This involves techniques like inhaling deeply into the lungs, smoking the cigarette down to the base, covering the air holes, or increasing the number of cigarettes smoked—all in an effort to achieve satisfaction.
Consequently, they suffer the same health damage as if they were smoking regular cigarettes.
By the way, try enlarging and comparing the filter sections of the “Mevius” (formerly Mild Seven) series, which have different nicotine display levels.
As the nicotine display decreases from “Light” to “Ultra Light” to “Extra Light,” the number of air holes increases, and their positions move closer to the mouthpiece.
During machine testing, the smoke is diluted by these air holes, resulting in lower nicotine levels being recorded.
This is a clever deception.
However, when people smoke in real life, they often block these holes with their lips, absorbing the nicotine needed to activate the brain’s reward system and achieve satisfaction.
At the same time, they also absorb large amounts of other harmful substances, leading to health risks.
Compensatory smoking not only increases nicotine absorption, but also relatively increases the amount of harmful substances in secondhand smoke from “mild” and “light” cigarettes.
There are two reasons for this:
①Secondhand smoke doesn’t pass through the filter, so it isn’t diluted by the air holes in the filter.
②“Mild” and “light” cigarettes contain a large amount of additives to make up for the thinner smoke.
When these additives burn, they produce more harmful substances.
To be continued
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