Grover Bagby, M.D., professor of medicine (hematology and medical oncology) and director of the OHSU Cancer Institute, said "the tobacco industry would have us believe that the health risks of tobacco use can be reduced by using new tobacco products. Dr. Pankow and his colleagues have challenged that idea in a strong epidemiological way. The Cancer Institute is actively supporting the translational research of projects of Dr. Pankow designed to biologically confirm his epidemiological studies."
Pamela Clark, Ph.D., senior research scientist at Battelle Centers for Public Health Research and Evaluation in Baltimore, said Pankow's study "has profound implications for tobacco product regulation." Clark studies the impact of comprehensive tobacco use prevention and control programs, as well as advertising and promotion of tobacco products in retail stores.
"Dr. Pankow's study shows that simply lowering the levels of a few known harmful compounds from tobacco smoke may not significantly reduce the risks of smoking," she said.
Pankow's group examined carcinogen deliveries from 26 brands of conventional "regular," "light" and "ultralight" cigarettes. Using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data for the potency of carcinogens, Pankow's team showed that these deliveries are only able to account for about 2 percent of the lung cancer risk associated with smoking cigarettes.
Pankow said: "Since we can't account for the risks from smoking conventional cigarettes, it does not accomplish much to just remove a few of the known toxins. An analogy might be someone who abuses alcohol by drinking 10 beers a day, but says they are going to cut down to 9."
Such findings could lead to tightened restrictions on how tobacco companies market their products. Legislation is now being cons
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Source:Oregon Health & Science University