The British Medical Journal reports that people who smoke low-tar cigarettes have the same risk of lung cancer as those who smoke regular cigarettes. Cigarettes with low tar content are often called light or extra light cigarettes. High, medium or low tar content in cigarettes does not indicate the level of health risk, and the best way to reduce lung cancer in smokers is to quit smoking. Researchers have tracked 1 million adults over the age of 30 who smoked for 60 years. They were classified according to tar content: extra low tar (0-7 mg of tar per cigarette), low tar (8-14 mg of tar per cigarette), medium tar (15-21 mg of tar per cigarette), and high tar (22 mg or more of tar per cigarette). The results of the comparison were that there was no substantial difference in the risk of lung cancer whether they smoked cigarettes with low or extra-low tar content or regular cigarettes. However, people who smoked cigarettes with low tar content were more likely to quit smoking than those who smoked cigarettes with high tar content because people who smoked cigarettes with low tar content were concerned about the health effects of smoking and were therefore more likely to be motivated to give up their smoking habit. Studies have also shown that smokers who have quit reduce their risk of death from lung cancer, especially those who quit before age 35, who have a similar risk of lung cancer to nonsmokers. However, even for those who quit after age 55, the risk of lung cancer decreases significantly. The risk of lung cancer is less than that of continuing smokers as soon as they stop smoking, independent of the type of smoking.