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Smoking long cigarettes can put you at greater risk of lung and oralcancer
10/29/2013 3:00:58 PM
According to a new study, smoking ultra-long
or long cigarettes can put you at greater risk
of lung and oral cancer. The study led by Dr Constantine Vardavas,
senior research scientist at Harvard School of
Public Health compared urine tests of 3,699
smokers who smoked regular, king-sized and
long cigarettes. The data was collected from
National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). It was observed that 53 percent of total smokers smoked king-sized cigarettes, 31.5 percent smoked long or ultra long cigarettes
and 15.4 percent smoked regular-sized cigarettes. The urine tests revealed that the
smokers of ultralong cigarettes had significantly higher levels of NNAL-an indicator of
tobacco-specific carcinogen. (Read: The research also revealed that older smokers, non-Hispanic blacks and females had a
greater tendency to smoke long cigarettes. ‘We found that of smokers of long or ultralong cigarettes have higher concentrations of
tobacco specific carcinogens in their urine than smokers of regular or king size
cigarettes’, Dr Constantine Vardavas said.
Some ways to quit smoking
Cold Turkey – The oldest and most successful method is going ‘cold turkey’ that is quitting smoking without taking any substitute for nicotine. 75% people who’ve quit
smoking claim to have done so without the aid of any aid or supplement. Coupled with
therapy and intervention cold turkey is supposed to be the best way to quit. There are
various websites and helplines which help people quit without the aid of any
medicines. Most replacement therapies look to chemically substitute the nicotine hit of
smoking but it just means switching from one addiction to another. One of the champions of cold turkey was Allen Carr, a chain smoker who quit smoking and went on
to write a book entitled The Easy Way to Quit Smoking which is the most popular book
on quitting smoking in the world. Many people have quit smoking after reading his book
and this list include celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears, Richard Branson,
Anthony Hopkins and closer home Mahesh Babu and Hrithik Roshan. Allen Carr’s basic
principle was despite overwhelming evidence which points out the hazards of smoking people don’t quit because they think of quitting as ‘giving in’ or giving up.
Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT) –
NRT looks to take care of nicotine craving by providing a substitute source without the harmful effects of tobacco. It works on the
principle that though nicotine is the ‘addictive’ part of cigarettes the more dangerous
ones are tar, carbon monoxide and other gases. There are various products under this
Nicorette umbrella which look to aid cessation including – chewing gums, lozenges,
nasal sprays, patches and inhalers. Some electronic cigarettes also have nicotine filters.
Real world studies have shown that NRT’s aren’t as effective as pharmaceutical companies claim. In the real world, 95% who have taken OTC medication have relapsed
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