Camel, which is an R.J. Reynolds Tobacco company, which is owned by Reynolds American Inc (NYSE: RAI), has a new brand of cigarettes out -- Camel No. 9 -- which are targeted at the adult female audience.

I was blissfully unaware of the new brand, being a male non-smoker. However, thanks to a bit of negative press, I am now conscious of Reynold's "cynical ploy" to lure young females to the world of smoking. Fortunately for Reynold's, so are a host of young women that read the newspaper, because while I may not be intrigued by a cigarette that is "chic, a little European, maybe a little Sex in the City," I am willing to bet more of the girls that read that article will be than not. It is a classic case of the effectiveness of negative publicity.

The worst part is that I am only increasing the new brand's awareness with each keystroke. But I digress.

The bottom line is that no matter how many times America's youth is warned about the dangers of cancer from smoking, it will fall on deaf ears that only read the words "chic," "sleek" and "sophisticated" from the very same negative article. And that spells profit for tobacco companies such as Reynolds America.

Oh boy, oh boy. This is not what anyone wanted to hear, I'm sure; not investors, not smokers and definitely not the general public. But we did hear it. A research from Harvard University's School of Public Health found that manufacturers increased the level of nicotine in major-brand cigarettes by 11% between 1997 and 2005.

Regardless of how you look at it or how the manufacturers achieved it, the end result is the same -- far more addictive cigarettes.

While a similar study by Massachusetts Department of Public Health with similar results was already published in the summer, cigarette companies complained about the methods. The Harvard study took cigarette makers complaints into account and still confirmed the state's results. The average rate of nicotine increase was 1.1% per year from 1997 to 2005.

And which brands, might you ask, have the highest level of nicotine? It seems that Camel and Doral, made by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, and Newport, made by Loews Corp (NYSE:LTR) Carolina Group's (NYSE:CG) Lorillard Tobacco have the highest levels. Marlboro, the best-selling brand made by Altria Group Inc.'s (NYSE:MO) subsidiary Philip Morris USA , showed no overall change.

Gregory Connolly, director of the Harvard School of Public Health's Tobacco Control Research Program, did say: "Our findings call into serious question whether the tobacco industry has changed at all in its pursuit of addicting smokers since signing the Master Settlement Agreement."

Now, if I'm an Altria shareholder, am I happy Phillip Morris didn't increase nicotine in its Marlboros, or am I unhappy the company isn't doing more (like its rivals) to hook smokers? Well, Altria shares closed down 0.7% while Carolina Group's shares closed up 0.9% today. Perhaps it's just a coincidence.