Prevalence of the misuse of ultra-low-tar cigarettes by blocking filter vents.

Evidence from tar-stain patterns in 135 cigarette filters discarded in ashtrays in public areas of shopping malls was used to estimate the prevalence of behaviorally blocked air dilution vents in ultra-low-yield cigarettes. Nineteen per cent (+/- 4, standard errors of the mean) of the filters had been blocked extremely, 39 per cent (+/- 5 SEM) had been blocked to some degree, and 42 per cent (+/- 5 SEM) had not been blocked at all. Smokers, health practitioners, and researchers need to be warned of the risks of vent blocking.