Smokers.....are lights ..lighter?

Question

I am 35 years old and have smoked for 20 years. I have tried to stop in the past and allways end up smoking again.
For the last 10 years I have smoked milder cigarettes. These are typically half the strength of normal ciggies. I know I should stop but what I want to know is this....
By smoking lights, does my chance of premature death or illness decrease in comparison with a person who smokes regulars? Or do the manufacturers put other stuff in them to keep me hooked?

Answer 1

It reduces the amount of tar going into your lungs, but the remainder of all the 'bad stuff' is just as strong. It will reduce your chances of breathing problems, but the possibility of stroke and heart problems is pretty much the same

Answer 2

Unfortunately smoking a milder cigarette does not help. I hate to say this to you, but you should really give it a big try and pack it in. I'm about to do the same thing. I'm now 66 and have been smoking since age 9; hard to believe but true.

I found the patches hopeless and worked as a nico boost rather than a smoke stopper. This time around I'm going to try the gum.

The good news is that there is now a tablet which takes away the craving entirely. Unfortunately your never give up giving up committee [NHS] will not prescribe this unless and untill you have tried all the other methods.

In your case, you could argue that you have tried all the other methods, see what happens. Don't just go it alone, join a group and keep it up.

About the strength of tobacco. While it is true that milder versions of tobacco are used to make mild cigarettes, the nicotine levels are probably just as high. It came to light recently that some tobacco firms have actually enhanced the nico levels in their cigs. This is especially the case in Africa where there is no control over such things and kids aged 10 are now completely and totally addicted to the dreaded weed.

At 35 you have every chance for a long life, in spite of smoking. Plenty of smokers made it to the big 80, my dad made it to 84 and he smoked like a trooper, or as he put it, a chimney was put in his head when he was born. This does not mean that smoking is harmless, because he had quite a few health problems in later life, shortness of breath and other things too. He eventually died of the dreaded pneumonia. A war veteran and my hero.

I saw one guy on TV recently, same age as you, 32-35. He had given up smoking five years and took the lung/breath test. You blow into a tube and it measures lung capacity. Bad news for him, because it showed he had the lungs of a 57 year old man.

Let's look at it like this. If a person never ever smoked, they would have the same lung capacity at age 60 as when they were 16.

Hard to take I know. Just never stop trying, keep going, you are not alone. There us addicts out here too.

Answer 3

I am afraid there is a great deal of good work now showing that the lower tar cigarettes are not one jot safer than high tar and that switching to a lower tar brand gives no heath risk reduction.

I don't think that even the tobacco companies realised this initially, though of course they have gone to no effort to publicise the facts now that they are well known. This has unfortunately perpetuated the myth that they are safer. This may well have stopped some people from stopping,in that they felt that moving to a low tar brand was already a positive health move.

The reason switching does not work is that smokers alter their smoking technique, depending on the content of the cigarette they are smoking, to keep heir nicotine levels optimum. The initial work on low tar cigarettes was done on machines which had constant suck levels, and indeed if the same suction is applied to low tar as high tar cigarettes, less toxins are inhaled. Unfortunately this does not occur when the cigarettes are smoked by humans.

I an afraid giving up completely is the only was to significantly reduce your risks.

Answer 4

With ciggies that are light there is just less tar in them it just stops you having a smokers cough and breathing difficulties that's all but i still think you will dye younger than a non smoker sorry for being the one with the bad news but hope this helps.

Answer 5

Well im a smoker and have bean smoken evr since i was 16 im know 21 and i carnt give up as well i think somking is realy bad for you its realy hard to give in and some not all none smokers dont understand the greef thta stopping gives but if you realy wanna give up its all about well power and if you wanna give it up to be truthfull i hope that helps good luck

Answer 6

Although not as strong it has been proven that smokers compensate by taking deeper draws of the ciggy. They are actually just as bad for you unfortunately and do as much damage. I sympathise with you, i managed to stop last November after smoking for 17 years, it was hard going but it can be done!

Answer 7

Studies have shown that smoking "lights" can be MORE hazardous than stronger cigarettes
The typical habit is to inhale deeper on the cigarette to draw more nicotine. This causes damage to even deeper areas of your lungs which gives you a greater chance of problems.
This is why it's now illegal in the uk to call lower tar cigarettes "lights". If you hadn't noticed the change then try and find a legal packet of cigies with the word lights on them.
We now have marlboro' silver etc.
The only way forward is to quit.

Answer 8

Lights are not "lighter", as being less addictive or less healthy.

You may not know that there are tobaccos that naturally contain less nicotine and those that contain more.
Tobacco with more nicotine brings more money at auctions.
I suspect that lights may contain more tobacco with less nicotine.
I also feel that one may smoke more of the lights to get more nicotine or the same amount as regulars.

I've smoked for 50+ years. Not good. They've done lots of damage to my health.

Answer 9

in a word no,it is a marketing ploy by the smoking companies. I was told this by a stop smoking adviser fro the NHS the only reason they are classed as lights is due to the fact the filters are perforated. the amount of nicotine remains the same, being a smoker myself used to think that by smoking low tar ciggies that my chances of illness was reduced, unfortunately this is not the case and the only way to ensure you lower your risk is to stop! sorry

Answer 10

You just end up sucker harder on the lighter ones and going through them quicker. If you're really worried about premature death or any illnesses you may get, then you know what to do.