Light Cigarettes Just as Addictive as 'Full Flavored'

June 29, 2006 — -- Smoking "light" cigarettes was just another way Mim Long rationalized that she was not addicted to smoking, along with an arbitrary rule of not smoking before 10 a.m.

But, alas, the Los Angeles actress now admits light cigarettes are just as addictive as their stronger counterparts.

"We're addicts. We'll talk ourselves into anything to keep doing what we want to do," said Long, a smoker for 15 years who quit four years ago.

Light cigarettes are believed to be healthier and easier to quit, but a new study of smokers' habits revealed surprising findings. Researchers asked more than 12,000 former and current smokers about their smoking habits, and they found that people who had smoked light cigarettes were 54 percent less likely to be among the quitters than smokers who'd never smoked light cigarettes.

The results, reported today in the American Journal of Public Health, do not answer exactly why they were less likely to quit but suggest that the "light" smokers were less motivated to stop smoking because they believed that the cigarettes were healthier, according to Dr. Hilary Tindle, author of the study and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

"There's so much confusion about cigarettes, the label speaks for itself. 'Light' is misinterpreted as being healthier," Tindle said.

Studies have shown that smoking light cigarettes offers no health benefits, but this is the first study to suggest how their use may influence behavior. In the early '80s, many doctors even recommended light cigarettes to their patients interested in quitting.

"There was the question: Does this help people make a quit attempt or are they providing an out?" said Dr. Ken Perkins, a psychiatry and epidemiology professor at the University of Pittsburgh.