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The average nicotine and tar levels found in cigarettes in Hong Kong last year dropped slightly from the 2002.

But concerned smokers should beware that Marlboro Lights, Benson & Hedges and Chunghwa cigarettes had the highest levels of tar and nicotine in their classes, the Department of Health found in its annual review.

The government chemist, which has been testing the best-selling cigarettes in Hong Kong since 1983, studied 79 brands and found an average nicotine level of 0.84mg per cigarette. That is 0.1mg lower than the previous year's findings.

Tar yields also fell 0.3mg  to 10.5mg  per  cigarette on average, the lab found.

Nicotine has been found to increase smokers' addiction, while tar generally damages their health.

The government tested cigarettes in three types of tar category - low, medium and high.

In the low-tar category, Marlboro Lights 100s, one of Hong Kong's most popular brands, were found to have 9mg of tar and 0.7mg  of nicotine, the highest levels out of 35 light brands tested.

Kent Ones Lights Charcoal had the lowest levels, at 1mg  of tar and 0.1mg  of nicotine.

Such so-called light cigarettes have been the centre of controversy lately, with a study in January by the American Cancer Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology finding that the cigarettes did not reduce the risk of lung disease.

Researchers had also previously noticed that people who smoked light cigarettes had a tendency to smoke more, take deeper drags and hold the smoke in longer.



Nicotine, tar levels drop in cigarettes