Study Suggests Herbal Cigarettes May Be As Harmful As Tobacco
June 28, 2026 | Source: Asian Scientist | by Kasturi Das
AsianScientist (Jun. 28, 2026) – Marketed as natural, tobacco-free and even therapeutic, herbal cigarettes have gained popularity among smokers in India seeking what they perceive to be a healthier alternative to conventional cigarettes. But a new study suggests these products may be just as harmful—if not more so—than tobacco cigarettes.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), in collaboration with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), compared the physical, chemical, and oxidative properties of mainstream smoke from commercially available herbal and tobacco cigarettes in India. Their findings, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, challenge the widespread assumption that tobacco-free smoking products are inherently safer.
Putting herbal cigarettes to the test
The study compared emissions from two of India’s best-selling tobacco brands and four popular herbal varieties containing ingredients like basil, clove, cinnamon, mint, green tea, water lily, and chamomile. Two of the herbal brands used tendu (ebony) leaves as wrappers, identical to those used in bidis, India’s most widely consumed smoking product.