"less harmful cigarettes" deceptive: experts

Experts on Tuesday dismissed the concept that "low-tar cigarettes are less harmful" as a deceptive marketing gimmick.

At an anti-tobacco seminar held by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the anti-smoking advocacy group ThinkTank in Beijing, experts said research by Xie Jianping, a tobacco research academic, was a deception sugar-coated in science and, therefore, very harmful to public health.

They urged authorities to remove Xie from his seat at the elite Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).

Xie, who has worked for a tobacco research institute under the China National Tobacco Corporation (China Tobacco) for decades, has been the subject of controversy since he was honored with a seat in the CAE in December 2011.

Xie has won several national awards for his research in the tobacco industry, which has been been the subject of fierce debate among the public and in the media.

Xie's research focuses on low-tar and herbal cigarettes, which his institute claims are less harmful than conventional tobacco products.

Experts at the seminar countered his claims by pointing out that his research features a number of errors in terms of its direction, methodology and conclusions.

"His theories were substantially based on junior-level toxicology appraisals, which is not enough to prove that low-tar cigarettes are less harmful," said Zheng Yuxin, an expert with the Chinese Society of Toxicology.

Gan Quan, a senior project officer with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, said Xie's research copies the deceptive, yet failed marketing strategy of the American tobacco industry.

"Xie is a representative of the beneficiaries of China's tobacco industry, who try to make money by lying to the public with seemingly scientific evidence," Gan said.

He added that the WHO FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control), to which China is a signatory, requires nations to ban deceptive and misleading descriptions such as "low tar."

Xie said he had conducted significant research on "less harmful, low-tar" cigarettes when he applied for the seat in CAE, but he contradicted himself in some of his work by saying his research was not sufficient to make cigarettes "less harmful," according to Wu Yiqun, executive vice director of ThinkTank.

Experts at the seminar petitioned for Xie to be removed from his seat in the CAE, as his research was conducted for the tobacco industry rather than the health of the general public, setting a bad example for the academic community.

They also called on the Ministry of Science and Technology to not include any research detrimental to public health and the environment on lists for any national awards.

"Scientists and institutions should refuse the involvement of the tobacco industry when they apply for research funds or awards, which can help research from going astray," said Yang Gonghuan, deputy head of the Chinese Association for Tobacco Control.

China is the largest tobacco producing and consuming country in the world, with more than 300 million smokers and another 740 million people affected by passive smoking, official figures show. About 1 million Chinese people die from tobacco-related illnesses annually.