CHESTER, Va., Oct 2 (Reuters) - Star Scientific Inc., a small tobacco company, said on Monday it has begun test market sales in Virginia and Kentucky of a new cigarette which has lower levels of some cancer-causing toxins.

The company said it wants to prove that it is profitable to produce a potentially less hazardous cigarette. The announcement follows recent attempts by major tobacco companies, such as R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc., and Philip Morris Cos. Inc. to come up with safer cigaretes. Star said it used a special tobacco-curing method in making the cigarette, called Advance, which also has a unique filter that reduces the levels of toxic smoke. But it is in no way a ``safe'' cigarette since it is not yet possible to make one, the company said. For that reason, Star said it will use the entire back of the Advance package to give smokers a detailed and specific list of what is in the cigarette. Star still has patents pending on StarCure(TM), which is the method of curing tobacco that it uses to reduce substantially the deadly toxins in cigarettes.

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