A recent study has shown that tobacco-free cigarettes are more dangerous than usual cigarettes and can lead to oncological diseases in future.

The reason of this declaration consists of the fact that was cleared out by a group of researchers. They state that cigarettes without nicotine represent serious risks for human health because they induce more extensive DNA damage in comparison with ordinary cigarettes that contain nicotine.

The researches were conducted by a professor in pathology Zbigniew Darzynkiewicz, M.D., Ph.D. The complete study about DNA damage response was published in June issue of Cell Cycle. To achieve the results the researchers used laser scanning cytometry technology in order to define DNA damage reaction of tobacco-free cigarettes.

The expectations were quite opposite. However the results showed that exposure of cells to the smoke of cigarettes that do not contain nicotine is even more dangerous than to cigarettes with nicotine. As a result it leads to the formation of double-strand DNA breaks. Therefore the conclusion is quite evident: cigarettes without nicotine are as risky to health as usual tobacco cigarettes that contain nicotine or even more.

The researchers who participated in the study believe that their studies to identify the potential risks of non-tobacco cigarettes and to compare them with usual cigarettes represent an important discovery in the battery of genotoxic tests for identifying cigarette smoke risks. Such experiments that are used to estimate the influence of cigarettes and cigarette surrogate products on human health can become the essential factors for such organization as Environmental Protection Agency and others.