[The biggest fraud of the century: light cigarettes]

Promot Educ. 2005:Suppl 4:32-3, 56. doi: 10.1177/10253823050120040111.
[Article in French]

Abstract

"The biggest fraud of the century: 'light' cigarettes" exposes one of the largest scams companies have exerted on their consummers. Exploiting the dreams of smokers to find cigarettes which would not harm them as much, tobacco manufacturers duped and lurred millions of people by making them believe such a product existed and encouraged them to take up "light" cigarettes, while they knew internally that these products were by no means less dangerous. Tobacco manufacturers also lurred public authorities by neglecting to share vital information on the way smokers do not behave like measuring machines and would compensate by drawing on their cigarettes according to their nicotine intake needs. Thus smoking machines utilised to measure tar and nicotine intake could never reflect the reality and would render the content information printed on packs of cigarette meaningless. Very few countries have banned the misleading descriptors such as "light". It is hoped that the FCTC which includes a provision on the use of descriptors will prevent the fraud being repeated in the rest of the world and especially in the countries of Africa.

Publication types

  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Deception
  • Ganglionic Stimulants / analysis*
  • Humans
  • Marketing*
  • Nicotine / analysis*
  • Product Labeling*
  • Smoking / adverse effects
  • Tars / analysis*
  • Tobacco Industry

Substances

  • Ganglionic Stimulants
  • Tars
  • Nicotine