ULTRALIGHT CIGARETTES - ACTIVITY, CARDIOVASCULAR, DIETARY, AND SUBJECTIVE PARAMETERS

In a field study, 24-h heart rate, physical activity, and cigarette co nsumption were continuously recorded, whereas resting heart rate, bloo d pressure, dietary intake, and subjective parameters were assessed si x times per day. Smoking habitual and ultralight cigarettes for two da ys each was compared in a sample of 48 smokers, consisting of 24 offic e and 24 nonoffice workers of both sexes. Nonoffice workers smoked mor e and revealed higher respiratory CO and Fagerstrom index values, wher eas other group differences were unrelated to smoking or its effects. Switching to ultralight cigarettes with four- to eightfold lower nicot ine yields than the habitual cigarettes significantly decreased respir atory CO by 5 ppm, saliva cotinine by 30%, resting heart rate by 2.5 b pm, systolic blood pressure by 3.5 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure by 3.0 mmHg, but increased fat intake by about 400 kJ, whereas activit y and subjective well-being were not affected. Thus, the reduction in saliva cotinine was considerably smaller than the reduction in nicotin e yield, and the effects on physiological parameters therefore were ra ther modest.