Tobacco: lovers "blondes" less willing than others to quit

Smokers whose preference for cigarettes "light" are less likely than others to quit, according to a study published on the website of the "American Journal of Public Health."

The analysis, conducted by Hilary Tindle, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, shows that among 12,285 smokers followed, those who consumed cigarettes "Blondes" saw their chances of quitting halved compared to those smoked "brown."

This effect was even more important that smokers were older, peaking in adults 65 years of age, the odds of quitting were lower by 76% compared to other smokers.

Paradoxically, more than a third of the fans "blondes" justify their choice by the fact that they think these cigarettes are less harmful than brown. It was mostly women with a relatively high social status, the authors noted that these data derive answers to a survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the National Center for Health Statistics.

For the authors, these results are particularly troubling cases are evidence that a considerable number of smokers think reduce the risks of consuming tobacco cigarettes "light", when in fact they only increase them.

Cigarettes "light" have been introduced in the U.S. market in the late 1960s. They represent nearly 90% of all cigarettes sold in the United States. A number of studies have refuted the idea that less tar and nicotine than cigarettes brown, while others have shown that fans of these cigarettes were exposed to the same dangers that smokers brown.

The authors of the work so require doctors to warn their patients about the dangers of cigarettes "light" advocate for the and inclusion on cigarette packages, appropriate information