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Monograph 13 Risks Associated with Smoking Cigarettes with Low Machine-Measured Yields of Tar and Nicotine

  1. Behavioral Research Program
  2. Tobacco Control Research Branch (TCRB)
  3. Tobacco Control Monograph Series
  4. Monograph 13
Monograph 13 Cover

Smoking low-yield (also called low tar or light) cigarettes is associated with significant disease risks. Monograph 13 discusses the chemical composition of these cigarettes, related smoking behaviors, public perception of low-yield smoking, and how low-yield cigarettes have been marketed through the decades.

Suggested Citation

National Cancer Institute. Risks Associated with Smoking Cigarettes with Low Machine-Measured Yields of Tar and Nicotine. Tobacco Control Monograph No. 13. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. NIH Pub. No. 02-5047, October 2001.

View Individual Chapters

Chapters and key topics covered within each chapter are listed below. Chapters generally include an introductory section, details on methodology, a chapter summary, research needs, and a reference list.

  • Preface (PDF, 67 KB)
  • Authors and Acknowledgments (PDF, 75 KB)
  • Contents (PDF, 68 KB)
  • Chapter 1. Public Health Implications of Changes in Cigarette Design and Marketing (PDF, 204 KB)
    • How Did It Happen
    • Compensation
    • Elasticity of Demand in the Cigarette
    • Marketing of Low-Yield Cigarettes
    • Disease Risks
  • Chapter 2. Cigarette Design (PDF, 204 KB)
    • Cigarette-Yield Testing by Smoking Machine Using the FTC Protocol
    • Changes in FTC Machine-Smoked Yields Over Time
    • Design Changes That Reduce Standard Yields
    • Compensation and Cigarette Design: Difference in Yield with Different Smoking Patterns
    • More Evidence from Industry Documents Related to Compensation, Cigarette Design, and the FTC Testing Method
  • Chapter 3. Compensatory Smoking of Low-Yield Cigarettes (PDF, 223 KB)
    • Role of Nicotine in Maintaining Tobacco Addiction
    • Biomarkers of Tobacco Smoke Exposure
    • Nicotine Absorption from Cigarette Smoking
    • Estimating the Extent of Compensation
    • Studies of Smoking Cigarettes with Different Machine-Determined Yields: Methodological Considerations
    • Short-Term Experimental Switching Studies
    • Long-Term Experimental Switching Studies
    • Studies of Smokers Smoking Self-Selected Brands
    • Spontaneous Brand Switching
  • Chapter 4. Smoking Lower Yield Cigarettes and Disease Risks (PDF, 605 KB)
    • Historical Development of the Lower Yield Cigarette Issue
    • Limitations of Epidemiological Studies in Examining the Risks of Low-Yield Cigarette Use
    • Published Epidemiological Studies of Health Endpoints
    • Biologic Implications of Compensation for Changes in Cigarette Design
    • Correlation of Cigarette Brand Choice with Number of Cigarettes Smoked per Day and Duration of Smoking
    • Temporal Trends in Lung Cancer and Other Diseases in Major Cohort Studies
    • Temporal Trends in National Lung Cancer Death Rates and Smoking Behaviors
  • Chapter 5. The Changing Cigarette: Chemical Studies and Bioassays (PDF, 269 KB)
    • Identification of Carcinogens, Tumor Promoters, and Carcinogens in Tobacco Smoke
    • Smoking Conditions
    • Changes in Cigarette Smoke Composition with Various Design Changes
    • Observations on Cigarette Smokers
  • Chapter 6. Public Understanding of Risk and Reasons for Smoking Low-Yield Products (PDF, 81 KB)
    • Perceptions of Light Cigarettes
    • Reasons for Smoking or Switching to Light Cigarettes
    • The Relationship of Switching to Quitting
  • Chapter 7. Marketing Cigarettes with Low Machine- Measured Yields (PDF, 1.5 MB)
    • The 1950s
    • The 1960s
    • The 1970s
    • The 1980s