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Light Cigarettes don’t help you quit!. Corey Schaffer Shane Thomson Connor Nutland. The study….
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Light Cigarettes don’t help you quit! Corey Schaffer Shane Thomson Connor Nutland
The study… • Colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh Center for Research on Health Care analyzed data from a 2003 survey of approximately 31,000 smokers or former smokers sponsored by the CDC and the National Cancer Institute. • Smokers who traded in their so-called "full-flavor" cigarettes for cigarettes with labels such as “light” or “ultra light” made more attempts to quit smoking than others smokers, but were almost half as likely to actually quit.
Continued • Studies have shown that switching to a so-called lighter cigarette appears to be associated with a lower chance of quitting, especially when people switched with the intent of quitting smoking. • Switching to the lighter cigarette gives the smoker a false sense that smoking is safe. • A significant amount of smokers and nonsmokers still believe these “light” cigarettes are healthier even though it has been known for many years that this is not true.
The future • Starting June 2010 the words “light”, “ultra-light”, “mild” and “low-tar” will no longer be permitted on cigarette packaging.
Results • Over 12,000 of the 31,000 surveyed (38%) at one point switched to a lighter cigarette. • People who switched to a lighter cigarette were 58% more likely to have tried quitting • The odds of quitting for the people who switched to a lighter cigarette were 46% lower than for smokers who never switched.
Significance • Not only did switching to a “lighter” cigarette not help smokers quit, but it actually made it harder for them to quit. Especially if the smoker switched to the light cigarette with the intent to quit. • The odds of a smoker actually quitting once they switched to a lighter cigarette decreased by 46% compared to smokers who tried to quit but never switched.
Continued • Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh believe that switching to a light cigarette may actually make smokers believe cigarettes are safe, which would undermine their attempts to quit. • The study conducted was an observational cross section. • Any type of clinical trial would have been better
References • Boyles, Salynn. “Light Cigarettes Hurt Quit- Smoking Effort.” WebMd. Nov. 5, 2009. <http://www.webmd.com/smoking- cessation/news/20091105/light-cigarettes- hurt-quit-smoking-effort>.