Healthier Cigarettes Created

One of the most important group of carcinogens in tobacco cigarette smoke can be neutralized by the addition of lycopene and grape seed extract to cigarette filters. This could make cigarette smoking a lot less harmful to those who are trying to quit, but cannot.

Cornell University scientists say that these two compounds help neutralize cancer-causing free radicals, which would otherwise make their way into the body. Details of the work appear in the PubMed video-journal Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE).

“The implications of this technique can help reduce the hazardous effects of tobacco smoke, because free radicals are a major group of carcinogens,” paper co-author Dr. Boris Dzilkovski explains.

Less harmful cigarettes could be more expensive at first, but the price would more than justify the massive savings that would be made in the healthcare system, researchers say.