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Pharmacological and chemical effects of cigarette additives.

Rabinoff M, Caskey N, Rissling A, Park C

Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-6968, USA. mrabinoff@mednet.ucla.edu

We investigated tobacco industry documents and other sources for evidence of possible pharmacological and chemical effects of tobacco additives. Our findings indicated that more than 100 of 599 documented cigarette additives have pharmacological actions that camouflage the odor of environmental tobacco smoke emitted from cigarettes, enhance or maintain nicotine delivery, could increase the addictiveness of cigarettes, and mask symptoms and illnesses associated with smoking behaviors. Whether such uses were specifically intended for these agents is unknown. Our results provide a clear rationale for regulatory control of tobacco additives.

Published 24 October 2007 in Am J Public Health, 97(11): 1981-91.
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