Low-tar cigarettes do not reduce the risk of lung cancer

The British Medical Journal reported that smokers of low-tar cigarettes have the same risk of lung cancer as smokers of regular cigarettes. Low-tar cigarettes are usually called "light" or "extra-light" cigarettes. The high, medium, or low tar content in cigarettes does not represent the degree of threat to health. The only way for smokers to reduce the risk of lung cancer is to quit smoking.

Researchers have tracked more than 1 million adults over 30 years old who have the habit of smoking for 6 years. The cigarettes they smoked were divided into: extra-low tar (8-14 mg tar per cigarette), medium tar (15-21 mg tar per cigarette), and high tar (22 mg tar per cigarette). The comparison results showed that there was no substantial difference in the risk of lung cancer whether they smoked low or extra-low tar cigarettes or ordinary cigarettes. However, people who smoked low-tar cigarettes were more likely to quit smoking than those who smoked high-tar cigarettes, because they were more concerned about the health effects of smoking, so they were more likely to give up the habit of smoking.

Other studies have clearly pointed out that smokers who have quit smoking can reduce the risk of death from lung cancer, especially those who quit smoking before the age of 35, whose risk of lung cancer is similar to that of non-smokers. But even for those who quit smoking after the age of 55, the risk of lung cancer will drop significantly. As long as you stop smoking, you will have a lower risk of lung cancer than those who continue to smoke, and this has nothing to do with the type of cigarettes.