London - The idea that roll-ups are less harmful than ordinary cigarettes is wrong, the British Chief Medical Officer warned.
Professor Dame Sally Davies said both types rot the body from the inside.
She said rolling tobacco contains just as many deadly chemicals and is not simply a more natural alternative.
Fewer than a fifth of Britons smoke – the lowest level in 80 years. But health officials fear roll-ups are increasingly popular with smokers because they are cheaper.
Forty percent of men and 23 percent of women smokers use them, up from 18 percent and two percent in 1990. But 49 percent mistakenly believe they are less harmful, according to a survey of 627 smokers.
Dame Sally said: “Whilst many smokers know the damage cigarettes do to their hearts and lungs, they are much less likely to be aware of how harmful smoking is to the body – essentially rotting it from the inside out, and roll-ups are no exception.”
The British government is launching hard-hitting TV adverts to help smokers quit. But Simon Clark, of the smokers’ group Forest, said: “There can’t be a sane adult who isn’t well aware of the health risks of smoking. Campaigns like this are an abuse of public money. Education has been replaced by shrill scaremongering.” - Daily Mail