Cigarette filter designed to reduce the amount of nicotine in smoke

New Delhi : IIT Delhi alumnus Prateek Sharma has developed a cigarette filter for smokers that will not only reduce the amount of nicotine that enters their body but will also help them quit the habit. The IIT student got the idea in 2018 after seeing an advisory in a cinema hall advising not to smoke during a movie. Sharma, who completed his graduation from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 2015, has developed the world’s first cigarette filter called ‘Sigibud’ which will help in quitting smoking.

Sharma claims that the ‘Sigibud’ is hitting the market and can filter out 80 per cent of the nicotine inhaled by cigarette smokers without altering the experience or taste. Significantly, when the idea of ​​making filters for cigarettes came to Sharma’s mind, at that time he was searching for a solution of modern air filtration to reduce the effect of pollution on human health. While studying at IIT Delhi, Sharma developed and patented ‘nanofiber technology’ with the help of his professor. After graduating in 2015, he started working on developing and marketing products based on this technology. Even the President gave the ‘Startup National Award’ in 2017 to Sharma’s out-of-the-box thinking.

Can’t quit the habit due to nicotine addiction

Sharma’s team conducted a research in which they found that 63 percent of smokers want to quit the habit but cannot do so due to nicotine addiction. The team also learned that according to the World Health Organisation, only 4 per cent of people are able to quit smoking without any help. Sharma claimed, “We realized that there is a huge difference between giving advice to quit smoking and actually quitting. We worked hard for 4 years.. and made Sigibud. It is the world’s first cigarette filter to help quit smoking. It will help smokers to quit this habit in 3 months. According to Sharma, this filter gradually changes the smoker’s habit by reducing the amount of nicotine in his body.