TOBACCO CORPORATIONS KILL IGNORANT RUSSIANS WITH ‘LIGHT CIGARETTES’

Pravda
May 21 2008
Russia

According to the World Health Organization, Russia has the largest
number of smokers after China, India and Indonesia.

Russia has the largest number of male smokers in the world (70.2
percent). This is actually the limit, since others will not start
smoking because of their education, principles, state of health and
other reasons. That said, tobacco producers have found new customers
in Russia – women and children. The nation has already witnessed
an increasing number of smoking women: from 15.5 percent in 2001 to
23.2 percent in 2007. The new target audience for light cigarettes
is women aged between 14 and 40.

Unfortunately, under the influence of advertising most Russians
think that light cigarettes are less harmful. The Levada Center
public opinion poll showed that 24.4 percent of respondents consider
that light cigarettes cause less damage to health than ordinary
cigarettes. Moreover, this illusion is much more popular among smokers
– 34 percent of smokers agree with this statement.

"However, the usage of such terms as "light cigarettes" or "cigarettes
with low tar content" and other deluding statements is banned in
46 countries," said Dmitry Yanin, the Chairman of the Board of the
International Consumer Society of Russia. Among these countries are
EU nations, China, India, Iran, Turkey, Thailand, Israel, Canada,
Australia, Norway, Switzerland, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay,
Chili and Panama. Armenia and Ukraine have also introduced the ban
on the usage of the term "light".

International scientific data showed that light cigarettes are not
less harmful than other types and they are as addictive as ordinary
cigarettes. In 2001 the US National Cancer Institute published the
analysis of in-house documents of producers which showed that tobacco
producers hide the truth about light cigarettes.

The level of tar and nicotine is measured with the help of "smoking
devices". Light cigarettes are not less harmful, for the apparatuses
used to measure the level of tar and nicotine give wrong readings. In
light cigarettes filter paper has small vent holes. When inhaling
air is tested with a device, the air gets through these holes and
triggers smoke formation.

But people smoke cigarettes in another way, differently from that used
with smoking devices. A smoker pressures vent holes with fingers or
lips during smoking.

Thus, the measurements taken by the above-mentioned devices show a
lower level of tar and nicotine and the level of tar, nicotine and
carbon oxide measure by ISO/FTC methods and indicated on cigarette
packs are unreliable. This is the conclusion made by the WHO Scientific
Consulting Committee on Smoking Production Regulation and the Canadian
Ministry Consulting Council on Tobacco Control.

Addiction to nicotine is another argument against light and low
tar cigarettes. Smokers become addicted to nicotine. The depth and
frequency of inhalations changes to make up the lack of nicotine caused
by the smoke rarefaction. To satisfy this addiction smokers take more
light cigarettes every day, and inhale deeper and more often than they
do when smoking ordinary cigarettes. The smoke from one light or low
tar cigarette inhaled by a man or a woman may contain two or three
times more tar and nicotine in comparison with the smoke inhaled by
"the smoking device". The same attitude is taken by Russian scientists
of oncology.

The Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection currently works
on a legal opportunity to ban the use of such terms as "light",
"super light", "ultra light", "mild flavour and delicate odour",
because the usage of unreliable information violates the law on
protection of consumer rights.