Light Cigarettes Sound Better--and That's What Tobacco was Going For!

John Hopkins

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Smokers came to know that smoking was not good for them, but Big Tobacco had an answer for them: "light cigarettes". Lower in tar; lower in nicotine; keep on puffin'!!

That fiction, sold to the public for over 20 years, may actually be exposed by the light of day. Plaintiffs have asked District Couirt Judge Jack Weinstein to certify a class action lawsuit in which the plaintiffs allege that Big Tobacco mislead the public about the danger of "light" cigarettes:

"By engaging in the deception, defendants dramatically increased their sales of 'low tar/light' cigarettes, assuaged the fears of smokers about the health risks of smoking and sustained corporate revenues in the face of mounting evidence about the health dangers of smoking."

The National Cancer Institute published a fact sheet about the "Truth About 'Light' Cigarettes"that determined that:

** tar and nicotine numbers on light cigarettes are deceiving;
** "light " cigarettes trick the smoking machines, producing artificially low numbers
** "light cigarettes provide no benefit to smokers' health

Once again, it is smoke and mirrors with Big Tobacco; its just "light" smoke!