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Article: "Light" cigarettes carry heavy risks.(Prescription for Change)
- Article from:
- Women's Health Activist
- Article date:
- September 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 National Women's Health Network. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Smokers consider so-called "light" cigarettes to be safer than regular cigarettes. But choosing "lights" is not a healthier choice at all.
Nicotine, of course, is highly addictive; I've had patients tell me it was harder to quit smoking than to quit heroin. In Gus Van Sant's movie "Drugstore Cowboy", a character who is addicted to prescription drugs says something like: "Most people don't know how they're going to feel in the next five minutes. A junkie has a pretty good idea just by looking at the label on a bottle." Controlling sensation is a powerful temptation, and part of the reason that smoking is so addictive is that it can have either stimulant or ...