TUESDAY, Sept. 9, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Reduced levels of cancer-causing chemicals called nitrosamines were found in a new cigarette tested by Virginia Commonwealth University researchers.
The independent three-week study of the Advance cigarette included 12 smokers between the ages of 18 and 50.
By the fifth day of smoking Advance cigarettes, the levels of nitrosamine metabolites in the smokers' urine was 51 percent lower than when they smoked their own brands of light or ultra-light cigarettes. The nitrosamine levels were 70 percent lower when the smokers didn't have any cigarettes.
Nitrosamines are considered one of the most potent cancer-causing toxins in cigarette smoke.
"Not smoking is the only proven method to decrease exposure to tobacco-related carcinogens and the likelihood of tobacco-related disease and death. However, most smokers find it difficult to quit because they are dependent upon cigarette-delivered nicotine," researcher Thomas Eissenberg, an associate professor of psychology and head of the Clinical Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory, says in a news release.
The study appears in the September issue of Tobacco Control. The research was supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the university's Massey Cancer Center.
More information
Here's where you can learn more about quitting smoking.
