Standards

• According to UCLA researchers, nicotine levels for regular American cigarette brands ranged between 1.2 and 1.4 in 2008. Light cigarettes contained between 0.6 to 1 mg and de-nicotinized cigarettes contained .05 mg.
  
  

History

• Nicotine levels in modern cigarettes are higher than those manufactured decades ago. Between 1998 and 2005, nicotine levels in American cigarettes increased an average of 1.6 percent per year, according to Harvard University researchers.
  
  

Significance

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 46.6 million Americans smoked cigarettes in 2009. Every year, more than 5 million people in the United States die from diseases caused by smoking. Escalating levels of nicotine increase the rate of addiction and make quitting more difficult.