Clive Bates, director of the anti-smoking charity Action on Smoking and Health, told BBC News Online that the whole concept of low tar cigarettes was a "complete confidence trick" played on the consumer.

BBC: Women 'conned' by low tar cigarettes

With counsel from TIRC, tobacco companies began mass-marketing filtered cigarettes and low-tar formulations that promised a "healthier" smoke.

CNN: A brief history of tobacco