Comments on: What Are They Smoking?

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:43:42 +0000

Very interesting article. I was especially interested in your mention of a study by the National Cancer Institute that found that gradually lowering the level of nicotine in cigarettes does not cause smokers to smoke more or inhale more. That was my experience about 10 years ago when I quit smoking. I used a method described in the book “Switch Down & Quit: What the Cigarette Companies Don’t Want You to Know About Smoking”, by Dolly D. Gahagan, published in 1987. I found that each time I switched to a slightly lighter brand, I would try to compensate for the lower nicotine level for a few days. But just as the author described, my body seemed to adjust to the lower level of nicotine and I returned to my old smoking habits within a week. Using this method, I switched from Kool Milds (about .9 mg nicotine and 11 mg tar) to Carlton Ultra-Lights (about .1 mg nicotine and 1 mg tar). There is no way that was compensating to get the same tar and nicotine out of the Carltons as I had the Kools.

What I can’t figure out is why the Federal Trade Commission stopped releasing tar and nicotine figures in 1999. According to an article at http://freegovinfo.info/archive/200608 , they continued collecting data on nicotine but have not published reports on the findings. This likely made it easier for the cigarette companies to increase the amount of nicotine in the average cigarette by 11.6 percent between 1997 and 2005 as reported in your article. Why did the FTC stop publishing the figures? I well understand that the figures are imperfect and may not accurately reflect the tar and nicotine taken in my many smokers. They could have handled this by including warnings and disclaimers as are included with other information and products. But it seems wrong to me to deny smokers the information that their very tax dollars are paying to collect. I’m just glad that I quit before the powers that be made this information generally unavailable. I’ve tried to find updated information for other smokers but have been unable to find a complete and reliable source. If you know of one, please post it here. Anyhow, thanks again for your article.

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:43:13 +0000

Regarding the ability of the FDA to handle its current responsibilities:

This bill — section 920, specifically — gives the FDA a separate funding stream, paying for its enforcement and the establishment of a new Center for Tobacco Products — with a user fee on the tobacco companies. It will have no impact on the ability of the FDA to carry out its current functions. None.

Regarding the “stamp of approval”:

(a) the government already, in tolerating the existence of cigarettes, has given such an implied stamp. Moreover, allowing some cigarettes to call themselves “light” — which the legislation would ban, along with descriptors like “mild” and “low tar” — the government allows the companies to deceive consumers about the risks of the product.

(b) the legislation does not allow companies to put such a stamp on their products. Period. (The language is not yet available online, but was approved by the House Subcommittee on Health and the Senate HELP Committee.)

(c) Section 201 of the legislation will increase the size and prominence of warning labels — 30 percent of the front and back of the back, 17 point, bold type, white-on-black (or black-on-white, if it’s more visibile), etc. It’s the very opposite of a seal of approval.

By: Parris ja Young

Parris ja Young — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:38:05 +0000

I have smoked marijuana somewhat as a habit and, for a short while, cigarettes. I can walk away from marijuana for years (currently going on 10 years) without trouble, although I miss the social aspect of it. Cigarettes, however, nag at me constantly. I can hardly see a movie without wanting one. I have papers and high-quality tobacco stashed in the house and occasionally indulge that addiction. There is little or no satisfaction in the cigarette smoke.

As a hippie, I tried several drugs that I thought would be interesting without risking my physical or mental health to any great extent. I can say as an experience experimenter that tobacco is the most addictive substance I have tried.

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:44:08 +0000

“If we allow the tobacco companies to continue to be unregulated, I promise that hospitals will have to build additional wings to house all of us who will need chemo treatment.”

Geoff,

They already do! Trust me. And I work in a separate wing dedicated to studying their biopsies in a research lab.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:41:41 +0000

I’m the friend Michael refers to in this piece who has been driving his Dad to treatment for head and neck cancer. I quit smoking about 9 weeks ago, exactly a day before my Dad started chemotherapy and radiation. Sadly, I have met a lot of people over the last several weeks in chemo who have smoking related cancers.

If we allow the tobacco companies to continue to be unregulated, I promise that hospitals will have to build additional wings to house all of us who will need chemo treatment. Enough is enough.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:22:57 +0000

“…I feel that stamping “FDA Approved” on a cigarette will only lead to a whole host of other problems.”

Very true. However, I think the hope here would be that the stamp would say “FDA Disapproved” instead, or that it wouldn’t even get to the stamp stage in the first place on account of frank toxicity. :)

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:17:43 +0000

I completely agree that there should be some governing body or agency over tobacco and tobacco companies, but don’t you think that the FDA in recent times has proved that they are incapeable of handeling the work they have now? (i.e. Spinich, Beef, etc.) In addition, I feel that stamping “FDA Approved” on a cigarette will only lead to a whole host of other problems.

By: Tech gurette

Tech gurette — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 01:11:17 +0000

Those BASTARDS! My mother died of lung cancer after two decades of trying to quit. Why wasn’t she able to quit? Because they manipulated the product to keep her puffing away. Congress has an chance to for once do the right thing. For Christ’s sake stop the nonsense.

Tech Gurette

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:48:52 +0000

Interesting post. This kind of deception frustrates the hell out of me, and you're right: No one, most notably the government, seems to be doing much if anything about it, at least until recently. I wrote a bit about it too here and here.