Would smokers smoke less if their cigarettes had less
nicotine? That’s the question a group of researchers asked and studied in the
most recent edition of The New England Journal of Medicine. As a former smoker
of years gone by I was of course interested. I myself quit smoking via
e-cigarettes, but for those who wish to quit smoking by gradually weaning
themselves off cigarettes via less
nicotinic cigarettes this study demonstrates that it is possible. Donny et
al. found that participants who smoked cigarettes with only 2.4 mg of nicotine
consumed 23-30% fewer smokes every day than those who had cigarettes with 15.8
mg of nicotine (1). Moreover, those that smoked the less potent cigarettes experienced less severe withdrawal symptoms and general discomfort compared to the other group. Further long-term studies need to be done to truly solidify the data but the initial results are promising.
What Donny et al. didn’t address, and why would they, is the
potential for low nicotine cigarettes to act as a sort of “gateway ” for youth
to begin smoking. I didn’t start smoking until I was 22, but I know that I sure
did cough more when smoking Marlboro Reds than when I smoked Marlboro
Ultra-Lights to begin with. Determined to smoke with the big boys, I worked my
way up from little league cigarettes to the big leagues of nicotine in Nat
Sherman Classics. For the uninitiated, Nat Sherman’s are fancy cigarettes that will
knock you on your backside after one puff. Eventually, smoking Nat Shermans
became a bit too pricey in Washington, D.C. ($18 for a pack of 20) and my lungs
revolted. I made the transition to vapor delivery systems and have slowly weaned
myself off of them as well.
There is little doubt that cigarettes with a reduced
nicotine content are and will be useful in helping smokers reduce
and end their habit, but extra care must be taken to ensure that these
cigarettes for quitters don’t become the choice of beginners.
1. Donny et al. “Randomized Trial of Reduced-Nicotine
Standards for Cigarettes.” The New England Journal of Medicine, pages 1340-1350
Vol. 373 No 14. 1 October, 2015
I found this to be very interesting, most people consider marijuana for example to be the gateway drug of choice but I have never considered that a less nicotinic cigarette could have the same effect. While I have never been much of a smoker, many of my family members are or have been (some used nicotine patches/gum to quit) so I am not sure how hard it is to quit but I imagine it is quite difficult. In the paper did they talk about possibly using these lower nicotine cigarettes to help people with other addiction problems such as alcoholism or substance problems? I know that replacing one vice with another is not always the best option but when it comes to seriously harmful and life threating addictions these safer cigarettes could provide a less harmful alternative and that crutch to help them through the process of recovery. I will be very interested to also see how big cigarette companies respond to these studies and if they will begin to push these cigarettes. Great read and great article again!
ReplyDeleteI found this article extremely interesting from a dental standpoint because the use of tobacco products is a major contributor to oral cancer. However, all of these tobacco products also contain nicotine. So to piggyback on Jordan's train of thought for addiction, but what about addiction to the nicotine patches or to the gum? I have a relative who quit smoking, but then became addicted to the nicotine gum and started consuming it more than she ever did with cigarettes!
ReplyDeleteA recent study suggests that nicotine affects blood flow in the gums, cytokine production, and other immune cell function that could cause connective tissue turnover. It is believed the nicotine could actually be responsible for overall effects of tobacco products on periodontal tissues and other oral diseases, including oral cancer. So John, what do you think this extra care should entail, to ensure that these cigarettes and other nicotine products don't become choices for beginners, given not only the addiction factor but also the overall effects on health?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2933534/