Nicotine rises as tar drops in cigarettes

Nicotine levels in cigarettes sold in Hong Kong rose slightly last year but their tar content dropped, government tests show. Of 93 brands checked, the average nicotine level was up 0.01mg, to 0.77mg per cigarette, while the average tar level dropped 0.2mg, to 8.9mg. A health official said because smokers might take deeper, more frequent, puffs on lower-tar cigarettes, they should not assume they were less harmful. It is for this reason that firms can no longer describe brands according to their tar levels.