British American Tobacco, the world's second largest publicly held tobacco company, says it is researching ideas for safer cigarettes, but any such product is a long way from public launch.

"We are working very hard to develop a reduced-risk product," BAT spokeswoman Emily Brand said.

She denied a London newspaper's report, however, that the company was preparing to launch a cigarette that would cut the risk of cancer and heart disease by up to 90 percent.

"There is no cigarette out there, in development or in the pipeline, that has a 90 percent reduced risk," she said, referring to the report in The Sunday Times.

One of Several New Product Ideas

British American Tobacco, the world's second largest publicly held tobacco company, produces the brand names Lucky Strike, Kent, Dunhill and Pall Mall.

Brand said the development of safer cigarettes, through the possible use of different filters or ingredients to reduce the amount of harmful substances that reach the lungs, was just one of several new product ideas the company was researching. The products, however, were a long way off from being launched publicly.

"I don't know if we're ever going to launch it (the safer cigarette)," Brand said.

Non-Smoked Wad of Chewing Tobacco

The only BAT product that could substantially reduce the risk of heart and lung disease was a non-smoked wad of chewing tobacco. The teabag-like product that is stuffed under the lip is being tried out by BAT in Sweden and South Africa.

According to independent medical research, because the tobacco is not smoked, the risk of disease can be reduced by as much as 90 percent.