U.S. Cigarettes Most Dangerous in the World, It Seems

Cigarettes sold in the U.S. cause Americans to inhale more cancer-causing agents than do cigarettes sold in Canada, Britain and Australia, researchers reported on June 1, 2010. Different blends of ingredients account for the fact. The study, published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, showed that the amounts of carcinogens in cigarette butts directly correlated with tell-tale compounds in the smoker's urine.

"We know that cigarettes from around the world vary in their ingredients and the way they are produced," said Dr. Jim Pirkle of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "All of these cigarettes contain harmful levels of carcinogens, but these findings show that amounts of tobacco-specific nitrosamines differ from country to country, and U.S. brands are the highest in the study."

The popular U.S. cigarette brands studied contained "American blend" tobacco, known to contain higher TSNA levels than the "bright" tobacco used in the most popular Australian, Canadian, and British brands. Australian and Canadian smokers got more nicotine than U.S. and British smokers, but not of TSNAs. 

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