World No Tobacco Day | Herbal cigarettes no safer than tobacco, new study reveals

Herbal cigarettes, often perceived as natural, nicotine-free alternatives to conventional tobacco, are not essentially safe. In some ways it may be even more harmful. A new study has found that these products mislead existing smokers into believing they have found a safer substitute, while also drawing non-smokers in under the guise of being harmless.

Smoking continues to be a global problem, with an estimated 1.18 billion people engaging in it regularly. Over the years, people have switched to alternatives, electronic cigarettes and herbal cigarettes, assuming that it is less harmful. Herbal cigarettes have become popular; they are perceived as a safe nicotine-free alternative, often claimed to have therapeutic effects. However, they have limited evidence associated with their health impacts. 

The findings were published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, timed ahead of World No Tobacco Day, observed yearly on May 31.

What the study says

Researchers compared smoke emissions from two popular tobacco cigarette brands and four herbal cigarette brands commercially available in India. The herbal variants contained ingredients including basil, clove, cinnamon, mint, green tea, water lily, and chamomile. Two of the brands also used tendu leaves as wrappers, the same leaf commonly used in bidis.

Each cigarette was burned inside a controlled chamber designed to replicate human smoking and inhalation patterns. The resulting smoke was then analysed for particle size, chemical composition, and oxidative potential. This is a measure of how much cellular damage the smoke can cause.

Herbal cigarette smoke showed a much higher potential to cause cellular damage than tobacco smoke. This implies that it triggers more harmful chemical imbalances in the body. It further noted herbal cigarette smoke contained the same or even higher amounts of organic and elemental carbon fractions compared to tobacco smoke. Heavy metal levels were similarly comparable.

Herbal cigarettes released approximately 20 per cent more sub-500 nanometre particles than tobacco cigarettes. Because of their microscopic size, these particles penetrate deeper into the lungs, posing a greater physical risk to the respiratory system.

A Regulatory gap

Despite these findings, herbal cigarettes are marketed as nicotine-free and entirely herb-based, with claims of therapeutic benefits including improved sleep, throat soothing, and mood enhancers.

The regulatory framework governing herbal cigarettes is not as clearly defined as that for conventional tobacco products. This leads to oversight on labelling, health warnings, and advertising allowing misleading claims to go largely unchecked.

Regardless of whether a cigarette contains tobacco or a blend of herbs, burning and inhaling them generates harmful byproducts. This study makes clear that the absence of nicotine or tobacco is not a measure of safety, and that herbal cigarettes, are both a health risk and a public health concern.