Cigarette-smoking Americans receive higher doses of the most potent carcinogens than do smokers in many foreign countries because of variations in the way tobacco is processed for cigarettes, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday.
American cigarettes are typically made from "American blend" tobacco, a specific blend that, because of growing and curing practices, contains higher levels of cancer-causing tobacco-specific nitrosamines. The most popular Canadian, Australian and British brands, in contrast, are made from "bright" tobacco, which is lighter in color and cured differently.