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FRIDAY, Sept. 7, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Immediate reduction of nicotine in cigarettes leads to significantly greater decreases in biomarkers of smoke exposure than gradual reductions in nicotine levels, according to a study published in the Sept. 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Dorothy K. Hatsukami, Ph.D., from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues performed a double-blind, randomized, parallel-design study to assess the impact of (1) immediate reduction to 0.4 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco cigarettes; (2) gradual reduction from 15.5 mg to 0.4 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco cigarettes with five monthly dose changes; or (3) maintenance on 15.5 mg of nicotine per gram of tobacco cigarettes. A total of 1,250 daily smokers with no intention to quit within 30 days were randomized.<\/p>\n
The researchers observed significantly lower levels of exposure in the immediate- versus gradual-reduction group for breath carbon monoxide (CO; mean difference, \u22124.06 parts per million), urine 3-hydroxypropylmercapturic acid (3-HPMA; ratio of geometric means, 0.83), and urine phenanthrene tetraol (PheT; ratio of geometric means, 0.88). Similarly, significantly lower levels of exposure were seen for the immediate reduction versus control groups for CO (mean difference, \u22123.38), 3-HPMA (ratio of geometric means, 0.81), and PheT (ratio of geometric means, 0.86). There were no significant differences between the gradual reduction and control groups.<\/p>\n
“Immediate reduction in nicotine content of cigarettes provided the greatest reduction in biomarkers of smoke exposure over time,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry; one author reported serving as a paid expert witness in litigation against tobacco companies.<\/p>\n
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