Not only are the toxic compounds used to make cigarettes more addictive than reported, smoking "light" cigarettes with allegedly fewer contaminants are at least as deadly as the "real thing," and tobacco manufacturers knew about it too, thanks to a ruling from a Brooklyn federal judge.

Unlike other class-action lawsuits against Big Tobacco citing personal injury, however, this one differed in that it wanted to prove light cigarettes were fraudulent products dating 35 years back to when Philip Morris introduced Marlboro Lights. This could be a huge setback for the tobacco industry, as 45 percent of its customers smoke "light" cigarettes.

The response from the general counsel representing Altria, the reformed, renamed Philip Morris that produces 50 percent of America's cigarettes: The federal government -- not Big Tobacco -- was to blame for the belief "light" cigarettes were any safer than the real ones.

Light or not, cutting back on cigarettes -- even down to one a day -- won't lower your risk of cancer. Your best bet is to go cold turkey, with the help of an effective tool like the Emotional Freedom Technique.

New York Times September 26, 2006 Registration Required

Spartanburg Herald-Journal September 26, 2006