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PRESS RELEASE:

ASH:  Action on Smoking and Health [UK]

The safer cigarette: what the tobacco industry could do (...and why it hasn't done it)

The tobacco industry could have developed cigarettes that would have prevented the
premature deaths of thousands of smokers--but these new safer cigarettes have never
been made available.  A new report launched today by ASH and the Imperial Cancer
Research Fund shows that the tobacco industry has investigated and patented
technologies that would reduce the substances in cigarette smoke that cause cancer,
heart disease and emphysema.

Speaking at the launch of the report, held at the Patent Office in London this morning, Dr.
Martin Jarvis of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund's Health Behaviour Unit said: "The
cigarette is like a dirty syringe for taking the drug nicotine.  What we now know is that the
tobacco companies could have made it less dirty.  The current products cause premature
death for half of all long-term smokers, so even a small improvement could save
thousands of lives."

Examples of the patented innovations which could lead to safer cigarettes include:

     The addition of catalysts to cigarettes to reduce carbon monoxide and nitrous
     oxides--a similar approach to the catalytic converters used to clean motor vehicle
     exhausts. If used, this approach could reduce the burden of heart disease.

     Manufacturing processes that would reduce the levels of at least one nitrosamine in
     smokers' lung tissue, thus reducing the incidence of cancer.

     Chemical filters that would remove large quantities of hydrogen cyanide and
     hydrogen sulphide while also removing acetaldehyde. This would help to reduce
     respiratory illnesses.

Possible reasons for the tobacco companies' reluctance to make safer cigarettes are
revealed by their own internal records.  Confidential tobacco industry documents
released during litigation in the United States show that 'safe' cigarettes created the legal
and marketing problem of admitting that the existing products were 'unsafe'.

Clive Bates of ASH said: "They could hardly bring out a new product advertised as
'low-cancer' or 'heart-safe' as it would send an very unappealing signal to smokers and
cause serious headaches for their lawyers.  If they couldn't market the advantages of the
new products, how could they recover the costs?"

ASH and Imperial Cancer Research Fund believe that the European Union should require
tobacco companies to measure and disclose all the hazardous constituents of tobacco
smoke and then reduce them.  In almost every other consumer product, regulators require
safety and quality standards--tobacco products should be no exception.  The European
Commission is currently developing proposals to regulate the tar content of cigarettes.

The Imperial Cancer Research Fund is dedicated to the prevention, treatment and cure of
all forms of cancer.  Its 1,000 scientists and doctors are at the forefront of the worldwide
effort to find new answers to cancer.  The charity relies overwhelmingly on voluntary
funding to carry out its vital work.

ASH-Action on Smoking and Health is an organisation that provides information about all
aspects of tobacco and works to advance policies and measures that will help to prevent
the addiction, disease and unnecessary premature death caused by smoking.

To read a complete copy of the report, click below:
ASH UK - The safer cigarette
 

ASH [UK] is a  Registered Charity No 262067
    Action on Smoking and Health is a company limited by guarantee.  Registered in
                England No 998971.  Registered address as above

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