Low-nicotine cigarettes won't make people smoke more often

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-07-16 01:00

International

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

People who try smoking cigarettes with a very low nicotine content aren't likely to compensate by smoking more cigarettes per day, according to US research. Cigarettes containing 95% less nicotine than a standard product are being considered as a harm reduction method, but international researchers say there are concerns that people would simply smoke more to get their nicotine in. To investigate this, they analysed the results of 17 previous studies on the behaviour of regular smokers switching to very low-nicotine cigarettes. The researchers say none of the studies showed evidence of a major increase in cigarettes smoked or smoke exposure after the switch. Overall, they say less than 1% of smokers could be expected to increase their daily cigarette use, and 8% could be expected to see an increase in smoke exposure. Very low-nicotine products could be used as a harm reduction option without a widespread increase in smoking, the researchers conclude.