Light cigarettes will not help you quit, study says

Don't light up that Marlboro Light assuming it's a good way to start weaning yourself off cigarettes.
People who switch to "light" cigarettes are 50 percent less likely to stop smoking than people who puff away on standard brands, according to a new report in the journal Tobacco Control.
Many people believe light cigarettes are healthier than regular smokes, even though they're not, said Dr. Hilary Tindle, lead author and an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. So when people shift to light brands they may lose motivation. 
Also, it's possible that people who switch are "hardened" smokers who haven't been successful at giving up their habits in other ways, she said.
The study analyzed data from a government-sponsored survey of more than 31,000 smokers. Thirty-eight percent had switched to light cigarettes, and of that group, 43 percent said they'd changed because they wanted to stop smoking, among other reasons.
People who switched were more likely to try to quit than those who didn't (51 percent versus 41 percent), but less likely to actually stop smoking (9 percent versus 17 percent).
Cigarette-makers don't disagree. "Light cigarettes will not help you quit smoking," said Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Altria Group Inc., which owns Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro Light. "People concerned about the health effects of smoking should quit altogether. There is no safe cigarette."