It is no secret that active smoking is a dangerous habit that definitely ups the odds of contracting lung cancer!
Now, a new study claims lighting up ultra-long or long cigarettes can increase the risk of developing lung and oral cancer than smoking regular and king-size ones.
“We found that of smokers of long or ultralong cigarettes have higher concentrations of tobacco specific carcinogens in their urine than smokers of regular or king size cigarettes,” said Constantine Vardavas, MD, senior research scientist, Harvard School of Public Health.
Details of the study
In a bid to determine whether smoking longer cigarettes is more dangerous than those of normal size, the researchers analyzed data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) from 2007-2010.
For the purpose of the study, they compared the urine tests of 3,699 smokers. These included 53 percent smokers of king-sized cigarettes, 31.5 percent smokers of long or ultra-long cigarettes while the remaining 15.4 percent regular-sized cigarette smokers.
The analysis revealed that people given to lighting up long or ultra-long smokes exhibited substantially higher levels of NNAL — an indicator of tobacco-specific carcinogen — in their urine. Moreover, it was noted that older smokers, non-Hispanic blacks, and females were more inclined to smoke long or ultra-long cigarettes.
“While the significant risks of smoking are well known and accepted, very little information exists on the health risks of different sizes of cigarettes,” said Darcy Marciniuk, MD, FCCP and President of the ACCP. “This study indicates that there is an added risk to those smoking long and ultralong cigarettes.”
