Is there a future for lower-tar-yield cigarettes? Participants of the Fourth Scarborough Conference on Preventive Medicine.

An international workshop was held to consider whether the policy adopted in many countries to encourage the decline in cigarette tar yields was beneficial. The consensus was that the policy had been beneficial and that tar yields should be further reduced. In addition the yield of other smoke components should be reduced even in the absence of conclusive evidence of their specific toxicity. The lower-tar policy should be monitored to ensure that the concentration of smoke components (or their metabolites) in smokers declines as the yields decline. The public need to be made aware of the uncertainties of the policy with respect to its effects on the risk of diseases other than lung cancer and that the benefits from smoking lower-yield cigarettes are smaller than those derived from avoiding cigarettes altogether.