Fabrikanten
maken sigaretten aantrekkelijker voor de jeugd.*
Onderzoek
gepubliceerd in de Journal Food and Chemical Toxicology en de krant de
Independent zegt dat de tabaksindustrie pogingen blijft ondernemen om meer
mensen aan het roken te krijgen. Wetenschappers hebben ontdekt dat sommige
fabrikanten zoetstoffen aan hun sigaretten toevoegen om zo de smaak van de rook
te maskeren en het roken makkelijker te maken.
De gebruikte zoetstoffen zijn o.m. pruimensap, ahornsiroop en honing.
Volgens de onderzoekers is de tabaksindustrie
moedwillig bezig om kinderen aan het roken te krijgen en verslaafd te maken. Een
buitengewoon slechte zaak vinden de onderzoekers, en bovendien verhogen de
toegevoegde zoetstoffen het risico op kanker.
De vijf grote tabaksfabrikanten geven op hun
websites allemaal toe dat ze zich schuldig maken aan het zoeter maken van
sigaretten. De onderzoekers zeggen dat roken er niet alleen lekkerder en
makkelijker door wordt, maar ook meer verslavend.
Philip Morris voegt onder andere zoetstoffen toe
aan sigaretten van het populaire merk Marlboro, maar zegt dit niet te doen om
kinderen aan het roken te krijgen. Bovendien beweert de tabaksfabrikant dat
sigaretten mét zoetstoffen niet beter worden verkocht dan varianten zonder
toegevoegde suikers.
(Bron: The
Independent )
Bijna gelijktijdig is een onderzoek gepbubliceerd waaruit blijkt dat menthol sigaretten ook veel meer verslavend zijn dan gewone.
Menthol
as harmful as normal cigarettes and harder to give up
Smoking
menthol and non-menthol cigarettes is equally harmful to lung function and
arteries, but menthol cigarettes are harder to quit, according to US study
findings published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Although mentholation of cigarettes cannot account for racial disparities in
rates of obstructive lung disease and other smoking-related illnesses, the
findings could explain lower smoking cessation rates among African-American than
European-American smokers, say the study’s authors.
“For a variety of historical and cultural reasons, including targeted
advertising by the tobacco industry, African-American smokers are much more
likely to smoke menthol cigarettes than European-American smokers (approximately
70% vs 30%),” write Mark Pletcher (University of California, San Francisco)
and colleagues.
African Americans suffer disproportionately high rates of smoking-related
diseases such as cancer, lung disease, and cardiovascular disease. The
researchers hypothesized that this could be due to greater exposure to menthol
cigarettes, if these were more harmful than non-menthol cigarettes.
To test the theory, they examined 1535 smokers who were taking part in the
Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study.
At the beginning of the study in 1985, 972 (63%) participants smoked menthol
cigarettes, while 563 (36%) smoked non-menthol cigarettes. Meanwhile, 89% of
African Americans compared with just 29% of European Americans smoked menthol
cigarettes.
Those who smoked menthol cigarettes were more likely to still be smoking at each
of the five follow-ups, with, for example, 69% still smoking in 2000 compared
with 54% of non-menthol cigarette smokers.
Adjustment for potential confounders showed that this was largely explained by
menthol cigarette smokers being less likely to quit, with an odds ratio (OR) for
smoking cessation of 0.71, and an OR for recent quit attempts of 0.77 relative
to non-menthol cigarette smokers.
Moreover, menthol cigarette smokers had a significant increase in the risk of
smoking relapse (OR=1.89).
However, there was no significant difference in 10-year pulmonary function
decline between menthol and non-menthol cigarette smokers, at adjusted excess
declines in FEV1 of 84 ml and 80 ml, respectively.
Similarly, there was no difference in tobacco-related coronary calcification per
pack-year of exposure to menthol and non-menthol cigarettes, with ORs of 1.27
and 1.33 per 10-pack year increase, respectively.
The authors propose: “Switching from menthol cigarettes to non-menthol
cigarettes might facilitate subsequent smoking cessation, especially in African
Americans, and thereby reduce tobacco-related health disparities.”
Arch Intern Med 2006
(Okt. 2006)