As anti-smoking drives rose, so did nicotine in cigarettes

WASHINGTON — The amount of nicotine in most cigarettes rose an average of almost 10 percent between 1998 and 2004, with brands most popular with young people and minorities registering the biggest increases and highest nicotine content, according to a new study.

Nicotine is highly addictive, and while no one has studied the effect of the increases on smokers, the higher levels theoretically could make new smokers more easily addicted and make it harder for established smokers to quit.

The trend was discovered by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which requires that tobacco companies measure the nicotine content of cigarettes each year and report the results.

As measured using a method that mimics smoking, the nicotine delivered per cigarette — the "yield" — rose 9.9 percent from 1998 to 2004 — from 1.72 milligrams to 1.89 milligrams. Total nicotine content increased an average 16.6 percent in that period, and the amount of nicotine per gram of tobacco increased 11.3 percent.

The study, reported by the Boston Globe, found 92 of 116 brands tested had higher nicotine yield in 2004 than in 1998, and 52 had increases of more than 10 percent.

The nicotine in Marlboro, the brand preferred by two-thirds of high-school smokers, increased 12 percent. Kool menthol lights increased 30 percent. Two-thirds of African-American smokers use menthol brands.

Not only did most brands have more nicotine in 2004, the number of brands with high nicotine yields also rose.

In 1998, Newport menthol filter 100s and Camel nonfilters were tied for highest nicotine, with 2.9 milligrams. In 2004, Newport menthols had risen to 3.2 milligrams, and five brands in all were 3.0 milligrams or higher.

"What's critical is the consistency of the increase, which leads to the conclusion that it has to have been conscious and deliberate," said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

No spokesman for a tobacco company would speak on the record about the Massachusetts findings Wednesday.

Reginald Fant, a clinical pharmacologist and nicotine expert at Pinney Associates, a consulting firm, said increasing nicotine content by 10 percent "would not be expected" to change how much a person smokes but might affect the ability to quit.

Texas and Minnesota also require tobacco companies to report nicotine data. A Texas Department of State Health Services spokesman said that although the agency had been getting the data, it has not had the staffing to analyze it.