Nicotine in Cigarettes Is Up 10%
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WASHINGTON — The amount of nicotine in most cigarettes rose an average of 10% between 1998 and 2004, with brands most popular with young people and minorities registering the biggest increases and highest nicotine content, according to a new study.
Nicotine is highly addictive, and while no one has studied the effect of the increases on smokers, the higher levels theoretically could make new smokers more easily addicted as well as make it harder for established smokers to quit. The trend was discovered by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which requires that tobacco companies measure the nicotine content of cigarettes each year and report the results.
Using a method that mimics actual smoking, the nicotine delivered per cigarette — the “yield”— rose 9.9% between 1998 and 2004 — to 1.89 milligrams from 1.72 milligrams. The total nicotine content increased an average of 16.6% in that period, and the amount of nicotine per gram of tobacco increased 11.3%.
