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CNN Live Today
'Daily Dose'
Aired May 30, 2003 - 11:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's now turn to another story in the news this morning from the health world. A fresh warning from the federal government about smoking. The most popular American brand in the world is among the most hazardous it turns out, and this is especially important to smokers in other countries who consume American cigarettes.
Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to explain this one for us in our "Daily Dose."
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control, wanted to know when someone in another country goes to buy cigarettes, one of the choices probably is going to be Marlboros. Are those Marlboros safer or less safe than the other choices out there in the marketplace.
And what they found, at least when it comes to one carcinogen, they are a whole lot less safe. Let's take a look at the results of the study. They found that these Marlboros had at least twice as much of a major carcinogen compared to the local brands were also being sold in the same stores.
The carcinogen is called nitrosamines, and nitrosamines are made in the processing. In other words, it's not something that's natural to the tobacco; it's something that's made as part of the process.
Philip Morris says that they don't use this process anymore, and it was -- they used it at the time when the study was done in 2000 and 2001, but that they don't do it anymore.
Now one expert I talked to said one of the big problems is they say that Marlboro marketed these as being safer than the other cigarettes that were out there, when in fact, that's not true at all. It was at least twice a level by a factor of two, and in some countries, higher by a factor of 22. So they were way higher.
HARRIS: No kidding. I'm betting that folks would be surprised, smokers who are familiar would be surprised to hear that. That seems to me like more of an endorsement for quitting smoking.
COHEN: Absolutely. And in fact, I was just on the phone with a spokesman for Philip Morris, and he says there is no such thing as a safe cigarette. Even now the companies are saying that. That certainly makes you wonder. But he emphasized that they have changed the processing for cigarettes. They don't make them the same way anymore. Until, I said, are they much safer now? The levels of these nitrosamines, have they gone way down? And he said, oh, we don't know. So we'll find out.
HARRIS: Exactly. We'll find out. Maybe we'll find out.
Thanks, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Cohen.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 30, 2003 - 11:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's now turn to another story in the news this morning from the health world. A fresh warning from the federal government about smoking. The most popular American brand in the world is among the most hazardous it turns out, and this is especially important to smokers in other countries who consume American cigarettes.
Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to explain this one for us in our "Daily Dose."
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control, wanted to know when someone in another country goes to buy cigarettes, one of the choices probably is going to be Marlboros. Are those Marlboros safer or less safe than the other choices out there in the marketplace.
And what they found, at least when it comes to one carcinogen, they are a whole lot less safe. Let's take a look at the results of the study. They found that these Marlboros had at least twice as much of a major carcinogen compared to the local brands were also being sold in the same stores.
The carcinogen is called nitrosamines, and nitrosamines are made in the processing. In other words, it's not something that's natural to the tobacco; it's something that's made as part of the process.
Philip Morris says that they don't use this process anymore, and it was -- they used it at the time when the study was done in 2000 and 2001, but that they don't do it anymore.
Now one expert I talked to said one of the big problems is they say that Marlboro marketed these as being safer than the other cigarettes that were out there, when in fact, that's not true at all. It was at least twice a level by a factor of two, and in some countries, higher by a factor of 22. So they were way higher.
HARRIS: No kidding. I'm betting that folks would be surprised, smokers who are familiar would be surprised to hear that. That seems to me like more of an endorsement for quitting smoking.
COHEN: Absolutely. And in fact, I was just on the phone with a spokesman for Philip Morris, and he says there is no such thing as a safe cigarette. Even now the companies are saying that. That certainly makes you wonder. But he emphasized that they have changed the processing for cigarettes. They don't make them the same way anymore. Until, I said, are they much safer now? The levels of these nitrosamines, have they gone way down? And he said, oh, we don't know. So we'll find out.
HARRIS: Exactly. We'll find out. Maybe we'll find out.
Thanks, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Cohen.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
