applehead
02-26-2003, 10:06 AM
a cigarette with no nicotine but all the chemicals. YUM.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Smokers who want the cigarette without the nicotine now have a product they can reach for on store shelves, according to a Monday announcement.
The company Vector Group Ltd. announced that it is now selling nicotine-reduced and nicotine-free cigarettes in stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.
The cigarettes are marketed under the label Quest, and are available in three varieties. Quest 1 has only 0.6 milligrams of nicotine, Quest 2 halves that amount, and Quest 3 contains only trace amounts of the addictive substance.
Company representatives report that the Quest cigarettes taste and smoke like other cigarettes.
They caution that the product is designed to help smokers cut back on nicotine, and not to quit smoking altogether.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Dr. Tony Albino of Vector Group said that transitioning to lower nicotine cigarettes helps reduce symptoms of withdrawal that normally plague smokers who want to curb their habit. While the main reason why people smoke is nicotine, he said, other factors can also be hard to give up, such as the gestures and social settings associated with smoking.
"Since Quest is a completely conventional cigarette in all other respects, the smoker will get these normal sensory cues which, we believe, will alleviate or minimize the negative effects of nicotine withdrawal," Albino said.
And evidence to date suggests that smokers of low nicotine cigarettes will not compensate for the reduction by smoking more cigarettes, he added.
Albino cautioned that, except for the reduced levels of nicotine, Quest cigarettes are similar to other brands, and therefore include "a wide range of substances that are considered toxins and carcinogens." As such, the cigarette cannot be considered safe, he noted.
He admitted that some experts are concerned that the public may think a nicotine-free cigarette is safe, and may, in fact, encourage the habit. For instance, some health professionals fear the Quest products may encourage nonsmokers to start smoking, tell smokers trying to quit that they shouldn't bother, or induce former smokers to start smoking again.
"We think each of these possibilities is extremely unlikely for a number of reasons," Albino said.
"And most public health advocates in the nicotine field would agree with this conclusion since all reasonable persons know that smoking any type of cigarette is hazardous to your health," he added.
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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Smokers who want the cigarette without the nicotine now have a product they can reach for on store shelves, according to a Monday announcement.
The company Vector Group Ltd. announced that it is now selling nicotine-reduced and nicotine-free cigarettes in stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.
The cigarettes are marketed under the label Quest, and are available in three varieties. Quest 1 has only 0.6 milligrams of nicotine, Quest 2 halves that amount, and Quest 3 contains only trace amounts of the addictive substance.
Company representatives report that the Quest cigarettes taste and smoke like other cigarettes.
They caution that the product is designed to help smokers cut back on nicotine, and not to quit smoking altogether.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Dr. Tony Albino of Vector Group said that transitioning to lower nicotine cigarettes helps reduce symptoms of withdrawal that normally plague smokers who want to curb their habit. While the main reason why people smoke is nicotine, he said, other factors can also be hard to give up, such as the gestures and social settings associated with smoking.
"Since Quest is a completely conventional cigarette in all other respects, the smoker will get these normal sensory cues which, we believe, will alleviate or minimize the negative effects of nicotine withdrawal," Albino said.
And evidence to date suggests that smokers of low nicotine cigarettes will not compensate for the reduction by smoking more cigarettes, he added.
Albino cautioned that, except for the reduced levels of nicotine, Quest cigarettes are similar to other brands, and therefore include "a wide range of substances that are considered toxins and carcinogens." As such, the cigarette cannot be considered safe, he noted.
He admitted that some experts are concerned that the public may think a nicotine-free cigarette is safe, and may, in fact, encourage the habit. For instance, some health professionals fear the Quest products may encourage nonsmokers to start smoking, tell smokers trying to quit that they shouldn't bother, or induce former smokers to start smoking again.
"We think each of these possibilities is extremely unlikely for a number of reasons," Albino said.
"And most public health advocates in the nicotine field would agree with this conclusion since all reasonable persons know that smoking any type of cigarette is hazardous to your health," he added.
More Lung & Breathing News