Tobacco companies are evading FDA ban on “light” cigarette labeling, finds study

Smokers in the United States can easily identify “light” cigarettes by the color coding that tobacco companies have added to packs since the Food and Drug Administration banned the use of words such as “low” or “mild” on packaging and advertising, a study has found.1

Since June 2010, tobacco companies have been banned from using explicit or implicit descriptors that convey messages of reduced risk unless they can prove to the FDA that the product significantly reduces the risk of tobacco related disease.

“Light” cigarettes have ventilation holes that allow air to mix with smoke, which companies said would limit the smoke inhaled. But …