Cigarette manufacturers are designing cigarettes to be more addictive than ever, according to a new study that is news across Massachusetts.
Lead author Thomas Land, PhD, and senior author Wenjun Li, PhD, were quoted in stories on WBUR-FM, the Boston Globe and the Springfield Republican. Dr. Land is director of the Office of Health Information Policy and Informatics for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Dr. Li is associate professor of medicine in the Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine at UMass Medical School.
Their analysis of data that cigarette manufacturers are required to provide to the MDPH found that while cigarettes’ nicotine content remained relatively stable between 1998 and 2012, the average amount of nicotine they deliver via smoke, known as the nicotine yield, increased by as much as 15 percent over time. “Recent Increases in Efficiency in Cigarette Nicotine Delivery: Implications for Tobacco Control” was posted online Jan. 13 in Nicotine and Tobacco Research.
“Cigarettes are getting more efficient at delivering nicotine to smokers,” Land told MassLive.com reporter Jack Flynn. “This could make it more difficult for a current smoker who is trying to quit, and easier for a young smoker to become addicted.”
Read the full coverage and learn more about the study below.
Cigarette Study: Increased Nicotine ‘Yield’ May Make Quitting Even Harder
WBUR’s Common Health—January 14, 2014
Study says cigarettes have been delivering more nicotine
The Boston Globe—January 15, 2014
Cigarettes providing more nicotine, state study finds
MassLive.com —January 15, 2014
Related link on UMassMedNow:
DPH, UMMS researchers discover increased cigarette nicotine yield, findings indicate change in design by tobacco companies
