In
America,
Marlboro lights are the most
popular brand of
cigarettes,
hands down. I've worked at two
convenience stores in two states, far apart, and talked to a number of other
convenience store/
gas station employees all across the
country. I've found that, on average, a store will
sell almost if not at least as many
Marlboro lights as all the other brands of
cancer sticks in the store combined.
Marlboro lights are also one of the most recognized brands of
cigarettes, right up there with
Camel. In the computer game
Deus Ex cigarette packs (they
kill you immediately when you use them.
Funny.) are represented by a little box with the same
square pac-man looking
decoration.
Many people
smoke lights because of the promise adorning the cover of the box, "LOWERED
TAR AND
NICOTINE".
Unfortunately, as Matt Gottlieb, staff
attorney for the
Tobacco Products Liability Project or
TPLP says,
the basis of the consumer fraud and deception alleged in these lawsuits is that cigarettes sold as 'light' are basically ordinary cigarettes with tiny holes in the filter that dilute the smoke with air when 'tar' and nicotine are measured by a machine. These diluted measurements are printed on the pack and marketing materials for such cigarettes. But when smoked by human beings, the actual intake of ''tar'' and nicotine is much higher than the machine rating because either the lips or fingers of the smoker cover many of the holes.
In addition, smokers who switch to lights will probably
smoke more. To
compensate for less
nicotene and breath
deeper. This could possibly cause them to consume more
tar and
nictotene than with their
original brand, not to mention the fact that they spend more
money.
The claim of light
cigarettes being less dangerous than regular cigarettes is the basis for numerous consumer
fraud and
misinformation lawsuits against
Phillip Morris and other
tobacco companies.
There is no statistical
evidence that smokers of
light cigarettes experience a decrease in
rate or
severity of
diseases caused by
cigarettes.
This was a nodeshell. Now... it is not