Though emphasizing that quitting is the best remedy to combat health problems for smokers, Cornell researchers have found a way to make tax free Style cigarettes less toxic.
Researchers from the lab of Jack H. Freed, the Frank and Robert Laughlin Professor of Physical Chemistry, have demonstrated that lycopene and grape seed extract literally stuffed into a conventional cigarette filter drastically lowers the amount of cancer-causing agents passing through.
Their research is published in the Jan. 2 issue of the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE).
"The implications of this technique can help reduce the hazardous effects of tobacco smoke," said Boris Dzikovski, research associate and paper co-author.
The Cornell scientists altered filters of normal cigarettes by placing a mixture of grape seed and lycopene treated with activated carbon in the middle. Their experiments focused on gas-phase free radicals, as opposed to other hazardous ingredients such as the solid particles, or tar, contained in cigarettes.
