Researchers from Cornell University claim to have developed a 'healthier cigarette', by reducing the free-radicals passing through the filter.

By using the natural anti-oxidants lycopene and grape seed extract in the filter of the cigarette, the researchers "drastically" cut the harmful free radicals entering the body.

Work to make cigarettes healthier in the past has centred on the use of haemoglobin and activated carbon. The combination has been shown to reduce the free radicals in cancer smoke by up to 90 per cent, however at a cost which has so far prevented it being introduced to the market.

The latest work using natural antioxidants forms a paper which is the 1,500th to be published in the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE).

Content director Dr Aaron Kolski-Andreaco said: "Practically, this research could lead to an alternative type of cigarette filter with a free radical scavenging additive. It could lead to a less harmful cigarette."

According to figures from Cancer Research UK, smoking accounts for 23 per cent of cancers in men, while figures from University of California, San Francisco suggest over the next 40 years smoking could case 18 million cases of TB.