The major toxins in cigarettes, perhaps surprisingly, don't come from the chemicals that manufacturers add. "The carcinogens mostly come from the burning of tobacco," says Kenneth Warner, director, University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network. Just burning tobacco also produces carbon monoxide, a big contributor to heart disease.
So, tobacco companies are turning to science to make cigarettes safer. Through chemistry, mechanics, and genetic engineering, companies are producing cigarettes that they claim reduce secondhand smoke, and have fewer carcinogens and less nicotine.
One such product, Eclipse, heats tobacco rather than burning it. Inside a cigarette-like tube, heated glycerin and tobacco produce vaporized nicotine. The process produces less tar1 but more carbon monoxide,2 says Warner. With another product, Accord, users insert special cigarettes into a small electronic device. The unit's microprocessor ignites the cigarette when the smoker puffs, and it also sucks up secondhand smoke. Warner wonders about its future success. "You ...
