Factory-rolled ciggies 'better than roll-your-owns'

Wellington, July 5 (ANI): Smoking factory-rolled cigarettes is less harmful than smoking roll-your-owns, suggests a Christchurch-based study.

Dr Murray Laugesen, a public health specialist who led the study, after comparing the two types of cigarettes, found that smokers were inclined to suck rollies more intensively, more often and more efficiently.

"Roll-your-own smokers inhale more to get the most value from their cigarettes and don't let so much be wasted, while smokers of factory-made cigarettes let a lot of their smoke drift into the air," The NZPA quoted Dr Laugesen as saying.

The study, which compared 26 men who smoked rollies with 22 who smoked factory-rolled, discovered the former took 25 percent more puffs per cigarette and generally puffed for six seconds longer per cigarette.

Dr Laugesen also said the findings dismissed the belief that smoking rollies was safer because they used less tobacco, or had less additives, or because they used a filter.

He added: "Instead, we find that using less tobacco actually means more smoke inhaled. Roll-your-owns contain more additives than factory-made cigarettes, not less, and using less tobacco in the roll-your-own cigarette means more smoke is inhaled, not less." (ANI)