Story perspectives

Herbal Cigarettes No Safer, Emit More Toxic Particles

5/30/2026

Summary

Story summary

Researchers from IIT Gandhinagar and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found herbal cigarettes marketed as natural are not safer than tobacco cigarettes.
Tests showed particles under 500 nm were about 20 percent higher and oxidative potential roughly 49 percent greater in tendu-leaf-wrapped herbal cigarettes than in paper-wrapped versions.
The authors said India’s 2003 Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act excludes tobacco-free products, creating a gap they urge to close with new regulations.

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Story summary

Researchers from IIT Gandhinagar and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found herbal cigarettes marketed as natural are not safer than tobacco cigarettes.
Tests showed particles under 500 nm were about 20 percent higher and oxidative potential roughly 49 percent greater in tendu-leaf-wrapped herbal cigarettes than in paper-wrapped versions.
The authors said India’s 2003 Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act excludes tobacco-free products, creating a gap they urge to close with new regulations.