By MARTIN JOHNSTON health reporter
Labelling cigarettes as "light" or "mild" should be banned because it wrongly implies they are safe, according to anti-smoking groups.
These cigarettes, which account for nearly a third of all sales in New Zealand, have been linked to increases in one form of lung cancer.
They yield
lower levels of tar and nicotine on Machine tests, but researchers say smokers tend to puff harder to keep up their nicotine intake.
Cigarette packets already have to carry warnings that smoking causes serious diseases. The tobacco industry rejects claims that the labels are misleading.
The director of Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), Trish Fraser, said yesterday she would urge the Government to ban the use of the terms like "mild" which were a form of advertising. Tobacco advertising is banned.
"I think smokers [of these brands] believe they are smoking a safer cigarette," she said.
They appeared to be particularly popular among young women.
The National Heart Foundation has supported the Ash call.
"It is a deception to reassure smokers that if they smoke a mild product or a low-tar product that they are not going to be at risk of heart disease.
"Smoking itself is the risk," said foundation medical director Dr Diana North.
Their comments follow Canadian Health Minister Allan Rock's announcement that he plans to ban the labels "light" and "mild".
He said these cigarettes were just as "lethal" as regular ones.
The tobacco industry denies the terms are misleading.
"We believe they provide information for consumers about different characteristics of different brands," said Philip Morris spokeswoman Nerida White.
The Health Ministry did not rule out investigating whether restrictions on the wording on cigarette packets were needed, said national drug policy senior analyst Paul Marriott-Lloyd.
"The ministry ... will consider the latest evidence about the dangers associated with smoking cigarettes labelled 'mild' and similar terms, in particular their potential to cause lung adenocarcinoma."
Lung adenocarcinoma is a form of cancer which occurs deep in the lungs.
The British Medical Journal says smokers of light cigarettes inhaling deeply to compensate for lower levels of active ingredients could be at higher risk of the disease.
A public health physician, Dr Murray Laugesen, said the rate of lung adenocarcinoma increased significantly in New Zealand in the 1980s, particularly among elderly women.
By MARTIN JOHNSTON health reporter
Labelling cigarettes as "light" or "mild" should be banned because it wrongly implies they are safe, according to anti-smoking groups.
These cigarettes, which account for nearly a third of all sales in New Zealand, have been linked to increases in one form of lung cancer.
They yield
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