Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 7 
Table 5 
'Relative adjusted risk of myocardial infarction in women by nicotine and carbon 
monoxide yield of cigarettes smoked 
Smoker Status 
Relative Risk 
95% 
Confidence 
Interval 
Never-Smoker 
1.0 
Current Smoker 
Nicotine yield (mg) 
< 0.40 
4.7 
2.8 -8.0 
0.40-0.63 
3.3 
2.3 - 4.8 
0.64-0.75 
3.2 
2.2 - 4.5 
0.75-1.00 
4.7 
3.4 - 6.5 
1.01-1.06 
3.6 
2.6 - 5.0 
1 .07-1 .29 
5.1 
3.4 - 7.5 
2:1.30 
4.2 
2.4 - 7.2 
Carbon monoxide yield (mg) 
< 4.8 
4.9 
2.9 - 8.2 
4.8-9.1 
4.4 
2.4 - 4.9 
9.2-11.1 
3.8 
2.7 - 5.4 
11.2-14.4 
3.8 
2.7 - 5.2 
14.5-15.0 
4.1 
2.9 - 5.7 
15.1-18.0 
4.2 
2.9 - 6.2 
> 18.0 
4.8 
2.8 -8.1 
Source; Palmer et al., 1989. 
CONCLUSIONS The Health Consequences of Smoking: The Changing Cigarette: A Report 
of the Surgeon General (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1981) 
offered conclusions on these three major classes of disease. Do these 
conclusions remain tenable in light of more recent evidence? 
With regard to cancer, the report concluded that: 
Today's filter-tii)ped, lower 'tar' and nicotine cigarettes produce 
lower rates of lung cancer than do their higher 'tar' and 
nicotine predecessors. Nonetheless, smokers of lower 'tar' and 
nicotine cigarettes have much higher lung cancer incidence and 
mortality than do nonsmokers (U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services, 1981, p. 18). 
The more recent case-control evidence remains consistent with the first 
compofient of this conclusion. 
With regard to COIM), the report concluded that it was unknown 
whether risk was lower for smokers of low-tar and -nicotine cigarettes 
86 
