Health Alert 174
I was talking with a friend and colleague from Lebanon who told me that virtually every man in his home town is a chain smoker. Yet, in his medical internship there, he never saw any lung cancer. This observation intrigued me.
During my internship in the Southern US, on any given night, I could take you down to the Intensive Care Unit and point to a whole ward full of lung cancer suffering smokers. If tobacco causes this cancer then why do the Lebanese who are much heavier smokers have much lower rates? This inspired me to do some research.
What I found is that tobacco itself may be the least harmful ingredient in modern cigarettes. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you smoke. But if you must indulge, why smoke all these extra toxins and chemicals? There are additive-free cigarette brands available.
* Know What You’re Smoking *
I found that there are up to 400 different chemicals in modern cigarettes. Many are known poisons and carcinogens but amazingly the government does not ban them. Even harder to understand, the government does not make tobacco companies even list any of these 400 chemicals. As a result you really can’t know what you are inhaling. How can you make an educated decision if you don’t know what you are smoking?
In 1982, the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company began producing roll-your-own tobacco products. They use 100% certified organic tobacco. In 1985, they introduced their first rolled cigarette product, Natural American Spirit (NAS) Regular Filter Cigarettes. The NAS brand is a response to the growing consumer concern over the use of additives. It does disclose all of its ingredients.1
Among the additives that are absent in the Spirit brand are:
• Sugar
• Glycerine
• Propylene glycol
• “Reconstituted” tobacco
• “Processed” stems
• Chemically-derived “synthetic flavors enhancers”
• Other chemical agents known as “burn accelerators”
* Healthier Cigarettes? *
The American Lung Association has spoken out against natural tobacco products like NAS. 2 However, the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company freely admits, “…to their knowledge there is no research indicating that products containing additive-free tobacco are safer than products with tobacco containing additives.”3
While I do not recommend any tobacco products, I can’t help but wonder if the Lebanese custom of growing tobacco in their home towns and rolling their own might account for the differing cancer rates. I also believe the fewer additives you consume the healthier you will be. Until further research is available, I would suggest additive free cigarettes are a better choice over mainstream cigarettes.
To Your Good Health
Al Sears, MD
1. Cox, Tracy. “Singular Success: Specialty cigarettes build substantial business for CTS retailers” Tobacco Retailer, 2003. http://www.retailmerchandising.net/tobacco/2003/0308/0308cs.asp
2. American Lung Association. “”Natural Tobacco’ Poses Greater Health Risks”
http://www.californialung.org/spotlight/naturaltbacco.html
3. Cox, Tracy. “Singular Success: Specialty cigarettes build substantial business for CTS retailers” Tobacco Retailer, 2003. http://www.retailmerchandising.net/tobacco/2003/0308/0308cs.asp