While smokers inhale a cocktail of heart and lung-damaging tar and smoke,
they could protect themselves from some of its effects by taking in an automatic
dose of folic acid, suggests Richard Kendall of Leeds. He is patenting a
cigarette in which the vitamin is added to those parts of a filter tip which
come into contact with saliva from the smoker’s lips or tongue (GB 2 332 359).
Vitamins B12 and C can also be added to the tip. The patent cites
medical studies suggesting that smokers may benefit disproportionately from
folic acid—perhaps better known for reducing a baby’s risk of being born
with spina bifida.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Technology
Why full-fledged quantum computers might always be five years away
Comment
Technology
Quantum computers are starting to become useful as scientific tools
News
Technology
OpenAI’s hacking agent went rogue. Should we be worried?
News
Technology
China is trying to regulate relationships with AI – can it work?
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles