By Miranda Hitti

Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson, MD

On Monday, October 04, 2004

WebMD Medical News

Oct. 4, 2004 -- American teenagers mistakenly think light cigarettes are healthier than regular cigarettes, according to a survey done by the University of California, San Francisco.

The researchers Rhonda Y. Kropp, BSN, MPH, and Bonnie L. Halpern-Felsher, PhD, of the adolescent medicine division of the university's pediatrics department, gave surveys about cigarettes and smoking to 267 boys and girls, who were 14 years old, on average. Participants reported varying degrees of experience with smoking. Eighty-four said they had tried cigarettes, and 18 said they had only tried cigarettes once. Twenty-four admitted smoking two to five times; 11 had tried cigarettes six to10 times, and 31 said they had smoked more than 10 times. Sixty-one participants said they had tried a light cigarette.

Many said they thought light cigarettes were healthier than regular cigarettes.

"Participants thought that they would be significantly less likely to get lung cancer, have a heart attack, die from a smoking-related disease, get a bad cough, have trouble breathing, and get wrinkles when smoking light cigarettes, compared with regular cigarettes, for the rest of their lives," write the researchers. Nearly 40% said they thought they were more likely to die of a smoking-related disease with regular cigarettes than with light cigarettes. The teens also said they thought light cigarettes would be less addictive and easier to quit than regular cigarettes.

In addition, 64% said they thought light cigarettes delivered less tar, and 40% said light cigarettes delivered less nicotine.

"Research has failed to show a reduction in smoking-related health risks, an increase in rate of smoking cessation, a decrease in the amount of carbon monoxide or tar released, or a reduction in the rates of cardiovascular disease or lung cancer associated with light cigarette use, compared with regular use," the researchers say.

Nearly 52% of adolescent smokers and 58% of adult American smokers smoke light cigarettes, which were introduced in the 1950s and have been marketed as a "healthier smoking choice," say the researchers.

Health care providers should give teens a better understanding of the possible consequences of smoking any kind of cigarette, the researchers conclude.

The study appears in the October issue of the journal Pediatrics.

SOURCES: Halpern-Felsher, B. Pediatrics, October 2004; vol 114: pp e445-e450.