User:GhostRiver/cigarette

Industry

Variations and alternatives

In 1971, James J. Morgan of Philip Morris USA released the first "light" cigarette, the Marlboro Light, which contained less tar and nicotine than other varieties of Marlboro cigarettes. By 1977, over a dozen other companies had developed their own light cigarette brands, including Camel, Kool, and Winston, while Parliament released the first "ultra light" cigarette.

Notable brands

See also: List of cigarette brands

Legislation

Smoking restrictions

Further information: List of smoking bans

Research in the 1980s concluding that passive smoking generates adverse effects led to an uptick in nonsmokers advocating for restrictions on cigarette use in shared spaces.

Smoking age

Main article: Smoking age

The average age of initiation for cigarette smokers in the United States has increased through the 21st century. In 2002, individuals who reported that they had smoked at some point in their life began at the average age of 14.95 years; by 2018, this was 16.52 years. In a similar time frame, the average age of initiation among those who continued to use cigarettes daily into adulthood had risen from 16.55 to 17.48 years. Earlier onset of regular smoking is associated with higher rates of nicotine dependence and lower rates of both attempts and inclinations towards smoking cessation. As a result, public health efforts have been made to increase the legal age of smoking. Most countries worldwide that have some laws instituting a minimum legal smoking age set that age to 18 years. A few countries have lower restrictions – in the United Kingdom, smoking is legal for residents 16 years or older, while in Iraq, Palestine, and Egypt, the legal age is 14. Even in countries where there are no age restrictions around the consumption of tobacco products, it is often illegal to purchase cigarettes under the age of 18.

With the understanding that 88.5% of cigarette smokers begin before the age of 21 and 96.8% begin before the age of 25, has become increasingly popular to increase the legal age for smoking from 18 to 21 years of age. Countries with restrictions for smokers under the age of 21 include Honduras, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, and Uganda. In the United States, campaigns to increase the legal smoking age began at a local and state level, with 500 cities and 19 states changing their local laws accordingly. On December 27, 2019, as part of a large spending bill under the Trump administration, it became illegal for retailers to sell any tobacco product, including cigarettes, to those under the age of 21 in the United States.

Taxation

See also: Cigarette taxes in the United States

Fire safe cigarette

Main article: Fire safe cigarette

Although home cooking and electrical incidents lead to more household fires than tobacco products, the National Fire Protection Association found that smoking is the predominant cause of home fire deaths in the United States. Between 2012 and 2016, an average of 18,100 household fires (5% of total household fires) began from smoking materials, leading to an average of 590 deaths (23% of total), 1,130 injuries (10% of total), and $476 million in direct property damage (7% of total). Many of these fires were caused by cigarettes falling onto upholstery or bedding material while the smoker was asleep or intoxicated. In response to these fire safety concerns, manufacturers have created fire safe cigarettes, which include small bands of porous "speed bumps" that both slow the burn rate of a cigarette and allow the cigarette to self-extinguish when it is not actively being puffed.

The first patent for a self-extinguishing cigarette in North America was filed in 1854, and the first call to legislate tobacco fires came in 1929, when US Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts asked the National Bureau of Standards to develop a "self-snubbing" cigarette. Although the Bureau created a prototype, it was not adopted by manufacturers.

Packaging and advertising

Main articles: Tobacco advertising and Tobacco packaging warning messages

With bans on radio and television cigarette advertising present in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand by 1976, a popular marketing method for tobacco companies became point-of-purchase advertising. Most popular was the "power wall" of popular brands stationed behind a checkout clerk at a convenience store. One of the first regions to ban point-of-purchase tobacco advertising was the Saskatchewan province of Canada. The ban went into effect in October 2002 and was briefly overturned from March 2004 to January 2005 before being reinstated by the courts. By January 2010, every province in Canada had implemented its own point-of-purchase tobacco ban.

• Restrictions on advertising
• Tobacco display ban
• Warning messages

Construction

Additives

Cigarette companies may use additive flavoring to mask the taste of cigarette smoke and to produce a more appealing taste, which makes the physical effect of inhaling tobacco more appealing, particularly towards young smokers.

Cigarette tube

Main article: Cigarette tube

Cigarette paper is often rolled into a hollow cylinder, referred to as a cigarette tube, into which tobacco is filled. Tube sizes vary in length, although the most popular are "King" (79–88 millimetres (3.1–3.5 in)) and "Long" (94–101 millimetres (3.7–4.0 in)).

Environmental impact

Health effects

Physical

Main article: Health effects of tobacco

Psychological

See also: Nicotine dependence

Secondhand smoke

Main article: Passive smoking

Smoking cessation

Main article: Smoking cessation

A number of factors, including smoke-free policies, increased cost of cigarettes, and public health campaigns, have led to a large outflux of cigarette smokers. In 2010, 68.8% of adult smokers in the United States have expressed a desire to cease cigarette use, while 52.4% had made an attempt to quit within the past year. By 2015, 59.1% of American adults who had smoked cigarettes at one point in their life had since ceased.