A Possibility of Producing Non-Addictive Cigarettes
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Large reductions in nicotine content could dramatically reduce reinforcement from and dependence on cigarettes. Studies focus specifically on New Zealand because it might be ideally situated to implement such a policy. The available data suggest that for current smokers, very low nicotine content (VLNC) cigarettes decrease nicotine exposure, decrease cigarette dependence, reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day and improve the likelihood of contemplating, making, and succeeding at a quit attempt. New smokers could almost be exposed to far less nicotine as a result of smoking VLNC cigarettes. Consequently, they might probably be less likely to become chronic, dependent, smokers. Many of the concerns about reducing nicotine include compensatory smoking, an exacerbation of psychiatric symptoms. This is from a perception that VLNC cigarettes are less harmful and the potential for a black market are either not supported by the available data which is likely mitigated by other factors including the availability of nicotine-containing e-cigarettes or unlikely to offset the potential benefit to public health. Although not all concerns have been addressed or could be a priority, the magnitude of the potential benefits and the developing evidence of relatively few potential harms might make nicotine reduction one of the centerpieces for discussion of how to rapidly advance tobacco control. Policies that aim to render the major toxic tobacco products less addictive could help New Zealand attain its goal of becoming smoke-free by 2025. (1) Tobacco might play an important part in the industry’s development! Is this a subject that catches your interest? This is a great place to extend your horizons!
The general aim of a nicotine reduction policy is to make cigarettes non-addictive so that novice smoker might not transition from experimental or occasional smoking to addiction and so that the smoker could be truly free to consider the benefits versus risks of smoking or not smoking and to then act on their decision to quit if that is their choice. The idea is to reduce the nicotine content of cigarettes over time, resulting in a lower intake of nicotine and a lower level of nicotine dependence until the dosage is reached at which the cigarettes do not produce reinforcing and other effects that sustain addiction. Such a policy is consistent with WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (the ‘Tobacco Treaty’) that has been ratified by most countries but not the USA3. Article 9 of the Tobacco Treaty addresses the need to develop guidelines for testing, measuring, and regulating the contents and emissions of tobacco products, to contribute to a regulatory framework to reduce the dependence potential of tobacco products.
Tobacco industry documents support the concept of nicotine reduction to reduce dependence: ‘To reduce the nicotine per cigarette as much as possible and thus satisfy the trend of consumer needs … might end in destroying the nicotine habit in a large number of consumers and prevent it ever being acquired by new smokers.’ Many additional documents describe various approaches to ensuring that nicotine levels — and the free-base form of nicotine in particular — are optimized to maintain tobacco product addictiveness. (2) Tobacco could be harmful to your valuable health! Take a look at these other sectors since they might be able to lower the nicotine level of tobacco! This essay might have a remedy for the cigarette industry!
Lowering the nicotine content of cigarettes is different from designing cigarettes that have low nicotine delivery as tested by cigarette smoking machines. The latter types of cigarette, once advertised as ‘low tar and nicotine’ or ‘light’ cigarettes, generate low yields in machine tests due to design features such as a faster rate of a cigarette burn, heightened ventilation, and other factors, but do not involve reducing the nicotine content of the cigarette tobacco. Smokers of such purported low-yield cigarettes are easily able to compensate for these low-yield cigarettes by taking bigger and more frequent puffs, blocking the ventilation holes with their fingers or lips, and/or smoking more cigarettes per day. Reduced nicotine content cigarettes could be designed similarly to regular cigarettes, except for the lower nicotine content. As the nicotine content is decreased in cigarette tobacco, it might be extremely difficult or impossible to absorb substantial levels of nicotine by smoking cigarettes more intensively (ie, by compensatory smoking). Light up your mind with this page! Check the disclaimer on my profile and landing page.
Source 1: https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/26/e1/e37
Source 2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3632983/
