Light or heavy cigarettes consumption and carotid atherosclerosis

Objective: To evaluate whether the pro-atherogenic effect of cigarettes is related to the content of tar, nicotine or carbon-monoxide (CO) reported on the pack. Methods: Carotid intima media thickness (IMT) of “light” cigarette consumers was compared to that of “heavy” cigarette consumers, matched for age, gender and packyears (n=71 per group). 71 never smokers, matched for age and gender, were included into the study as negative controls. Cigarettes were defined as “light” or “heavy” on the basis of the concomitant presence of the three components (tar, nicotine and CO) above or below 7, 0.7 and 7 mg, respectively. Results: In the unadjusted analysis, as well as in the full model adjusted for all possible confounders (body mass index, total cholesterol, blood glucose, uric acid, wine and beer consumption), all carotid IMT variables were greater in light cigarettes consumers than in never smokers (p=0.011, p=0.019, p=0.037, p=0.01, p=0.039 for CC-IMTmean, Bif-IMTmean, ICA-IMTmean, IMTmean and IMTmax, respectively), whereas no significant differences were observed between light and heavy cigarettes consumers (all p>0.05). Conclusions: This assessment, based on measures of carotid IMT, supports that light cigarettes consumption is not associated with a significantly lower atherosclerotic risk than heavy cigarettes consumption, indicating that light cigarettes should not be considered a valid alternative to smoking cessation. Funding: Research was supported in part by Philip Morris USA Inc. and Philip Morris International.