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Panel: Patches, gums, reduced-smoke cigarettes may be no safer 

If cigarettes are bad for you, wouldn't it be better to use nicotine patches, nicotine gum, a nicotine inhaler or even a reduced-smoke cigarette being tested by tobacco companies?

Not necessarily, a research panel of the Institute of Medicine said Thursday. While most replacement products can be used safely as part of a stop-smoking program, there's no evidence that making a new habit out of them would be any safer. . .

"There are going to be a lot of harm-reduction products coming out on the market," said Dorothy Hatsukami, a University of Minnesota professor and member of the panel. "It is important for consumers to be aware that there isn't any data that use of these products will result in reduced harm or reduced risk for disease." . .

"All of the products that have been proposed to date from the tobacco industry represent risky products. You are still getting nicotine, you are still inhaling a chemical soup compared to not smoking at all," said Ken Warner, a professor at the University of Michigan and an adviser to the institute panel. "The question is whether they represent a lower level of risk than cigarettes."

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