Information on tar and nicotine yields on cigarette packages

Concentrations of nicotine, nitrosamines, and humectants in legal and illegal cigarettes in Mexico

BACKGROUND

Article 10 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control states the need for industry disclosure of tobacco contents and emissions. Currently, the profiles of key tobacco compounds in legal and illegal cigarettes are largely unknown. We aimed to analyze and compare concentrations of nicotine, nitrosamines, and humectants in legal and illegal cigarettes collected from a representative sample of smokers.

METHODS

Participants of the International Tobacco Control cohort provided a cigarette pack of the brand they smoked during the 2014 wave. Brands were classified as legal or illegal according to the Mexican legislation. Nicotine, nitrosamines, glycerol, propylene glycol, and pH were quantified in seven randomly selected packs of each brand. All analyses were done blinded to legality status. Average concentrations per brand and global averages for legal and illegal brands were calculated. Comparisons between legal and illegal brands were conducted using t tests.

RESULTS

Participants provided 76 different brands, from which 6.8% were illegal. Legal brands had higher nicotine (15.05 ± 1.89 mg/g vs 12.09 ± 2.69 mg/g; p < 0001), glycerol (12.98 ± 8.03 vs 2.93 ± 1.96 mg/g; p < 0.001), and N-nitrosanatabine (NAT) (1087.5 ± 127.0 vs 738.5 ± 338 ng/g; p = 0.006) concentrations compared to illegal brands. For all other compounds, legal and illegal brands had similar concentrations.

CONCLUSION

Compared to illegal cigarettes, legal brands seem to have higher concentrations of nicotine, NAT, and glycerol. Efforts must be made to implement and enforce Article 10 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to provide transparent information to consumers, regulators, and policy-makers; and to limit cigarette engineering from the tobacco industry.

Relationship between constituent labelling and reporting of tar yields among smokers in four countries

Countries have adopted different approaches to disseminating cigarette tar, nicotine, and carbon monoxide (CO) levels to consumers, with some (e.g. EU member states, Canada, Australia, but not the United States) requiring disclosure of results from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) test method on packs. Cross-country comparisons can provide insight into how smokers use yields when information is presented differently. We examined whether smokers in four different countries could recall the tar yield of their brand of cigarettes, using data from the third wave of the International Tobacco Control Four Country Survey (ITC-4). Of current smokers in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, 33.6% gave a numeric response when asked to report the tar yield of their brand, whereas 66.4% responded 'I don't know.' American participants (9.2%) were less likely than Canadian (28.0%), UK (36.5%) or Australian (68.2%) smokers to give an answer, even after controlling for sociodemographic and smoking behaviour factors. Constituent labelling policies can affect whether smokers report a tar yield for their cigarette brand. Pack labelling appears to be useful for conveying information about cigarettes to smokers; however, there is an urgent need to develop more meaningful information on toxic constituents of cigarette smoke.

Acculturation and cigarette smoking among African American adults

The relationship between acculturation and cigarette smoking among African Americans was examined with 444 adults. Results revealed that African American smokers were more traditional (less acculturated) than their nonsmoking counterparts, irrespective of gender, and that acculturation was a better predictor of smoking than status variables such as income and education. The prevalence of smoking among traditional African Americans was 33.6% and similar to the national data (33.2%), whereas the prevalence of smoking among acculturated African Americans was 15.3%; 68.49% of African American smokers were highly traditional. These findings suggest that acculturation is a factor in smoking among African Americans and highlight the need for further exploration of the role of acculturation in African American health and health-related behavior.

Smoking cessation factors among African Americans and whites. COMMIT Research Group

OBJECTIVES

This study was undertaken to explore smoking patterns and attitudes that influence smoking cessation and relapse among African Americans.

METHODS

Baseline data from eight Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT) sites were analyzed.

RESULTS

Compared with Whites, African Americans who smoke less than 25 cigarettes per day were 1.6 times more likely to smoke within 10 minutes of awakening (a behavioral indicator of nicotine dependence), adjusting for education, age, and gender (OR = 1.2 for heavier smokers). African Americans reported a stronger desire to quit smoking and reported serious quit attempts in the past year. African Americans favored tobacco restrictions (they were 1.8 times more likely than Whites to view smoking as a serious community problem, 1.7 times more likely to favor restrictions on cigarette vending machines, and 2.1 times more likely to prohibit smoking in their car). African Americans were lighter/moderate, menthol smokers.

CONCLUSIONS

African Americans find smoking socially unacceptable and are strongly motivated to quit, but their "wake-up" smoking may indicate high nicotine dependence, making abstinence difficult even for lighter smokers.

Women and smoking: current trends and issues for the 1990s

Despite significant change in smoking patterns among women during the 1980s, the toll in tobacco-related morbidity and mortality remains high and will continue to rise for some diseases (e.g., lung cancer). Women with lower educational attainment are at particularly high risk for smoking initiation and continuation. Advances in gender-specific knowledge regarding the processes of initiation, cessation, and relapse provide more specific opportunities for targeted intervention. Strategies for change involve media, clinical approaches, and public health efforts. Emphasis needs to be placed on tailoring the message and on utilizing innovative channels through which women can be effectively reached. Advocacy groups are targeting public policies affecting women. Ongoing gender-specific research is needed in the next decade.