Filters that failed

Low-tar, filter-tipped cigarettes have only increased the incidence of adenocarcinomas, a cancer occurring deep inside the lungs. According to the American Cancer Society, only non-filtered cigarettes were linked to lung cancers so far. But data on the disease reveal that adenocarcinomas, never linked to smoking earlier, was rising in those smoking filtered cigarettes. This is because, experts say, the smokers tend to inhale these "light' cigarettes more strongly to get the same nicotine kick as from regular cigarettes (Journal of National Cancer Research Institute , Vol 89, No 21).