Herbal cigarettes may be more harmful than tobacco, study finds
A study by IIT Gandhinagar and the University of Illinois found that herbal cigarettes may be as harmful as or more dangerous than tobacco cigarettes. Researchers identified higher toxic particle emissions, increased oxidative potential and high lead concentrations in some herbal cigarette variants
Hyderabad: Herbal cigarettes, which are marketed as natural, tobacco-free and therapeutic alternatives, are not safer than conventional cigarettes.
A study by IIT Gandhinagar and the University of Illinois, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, reveals that emissions from herbal cigarettes can be as damaging as, or even more harmful than, tobacco smoke.
Researchers compared two popular tobacco brands with four herbal varieties containing ingredients such as basil, clove, mint and green tea. Some used tendu (ebony) leaves as wrappers, similar to traditional bidis. Using a specialised rig to replicate human inhalation, the team analysed the chemical and physical characteristics of the smoke.
The key findings include that herbal smoke emitted around 20 per cent more sub-500 nanometre particles, which are linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, than tobacco smoke.
Herbal cigarettes with tendu-leaf wrappers showed 49 per cent higher oxidative potential (OP), which can cause inflammation and tissue damage, than paper-wrapped versions. Chemical analysis identified high lead concentrations in a basil-filled herbal cigarette marketed as ‘100 per cent natural’ and ‘chemical-free’.
Prof. Sameer Patel, co-coordinator at IIT Gandhinagar, emphasised that herbal emissions meet or exceed tobacco smoke metrics across nearly every category tested. The study concluded that such products, despite being marketed as natural alternatives, also carry substantial health risks, effectively debunking the myth that they offer a safer option for consumers.