Low nicotine cigarettes may reduce smoking addiction

Cigarettes with low levels of nicotine may reduce addiction in smokers without increasing exposure to toxic chemicals, says a study.

The study monitored the smoking behaviour of 72 adults as they switched between three types of cigarettes with markedly reduced nicotine levels.

When the participants switched between conventional cigarette brands - which have similar nicotine content - there was no significant change in their puffing behaviour, number of cigarettes consumed or levels of toxic chemicals in their systems.

"We found that smokers were unable or unwilling to compensate when there was markedly less nicotine in the cigarette," said David Hammond, from the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at University of Waterloo in Canada.

The cigarettes - Quest 1, Quest 2 and Quest 3 - had a nicotine content of 8.9, 8.4 and 0.6 mg, respectively, as opposed to an average of 12 mg in a regular cigarette.

The study appeared in the journal Cancer Epidemiology.