Smoking out the truth about poisoned cigarettes

A murder weapon that self-destructs. It’s like something out of a spy story or an elaborate crime drama. And one such weapon has had a long career in the spotlight. A few of its credits include the 1940s American movie Bermuda Mystery and the classic detective show Colombo, with more modern roles in Breaking Bad, SS-GB and Murder in Paradise. But it’s not an elaborate high-tech invention of a spymaster or genius criminal. It’s the simple cigarette. Or indeed the cigar, pipe or the modern-day heated tobacco product (HTP). Tobacco products have claimed the lives of many consumers, but when laced with faster-acting toxins their potential for getting away with murder is clear: the victims administer the poison themselves as the evidence goes up in smoke. It’s a perfect fictional plot device – and it also stars in real-life crimes.