Lighting up may be worse than ever for smokers’ health.
A new report from the U.S. Surgeon General suggests that smoking is now proven to be more deadly than ever because of changes in the manufacturing process.
It has been 50 years since the Surgeon General released the first tobacco-related report in 1964. Since then, more than 20 million Americans have died because of smoking, according to the report.
“Cigarette manufacturers have redesigned cigarettes,” said Jane Emmerée, a GatorWell Health Promotion Services specialist.
The levels of chemicals in cigarette smoke have increased as a result of the manufacturing processes, she said.
Emmerée said the report is significant because it offers enough evidence to make claims about the effects of smoking.
It also provides information on ways to help students who suffer with addiction.
“The report added new disorders that we didn’t have enough evidence for,” Emmerée said. “The preponderance of evidence keeps growing stronger and stronger.”
Amber Medina, a 22-year-old UF chemistry junior, said that as a smoker, she worries about health complications that may arise.
Medina said although smoking is restricted now, she thinks its taboo is what makes it appeal more to a younger generation than it did in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
“Tobacco is now cut with a lot of pesticides,” she said. “That scares me.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 1/24/2014 under the headline "Smoking danger grows"]
