Suzanne Humphries on vitamin c: what the evidence says · JRE #2294
SUBJECT: VITAMIN C
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
A cigarette will consume 75 milligrams of vitamin C, and they tell you that you only need 190 milligrams a day. That's the FDA requirement.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
Both figures are incorrect. The FDA Daily Value for vitamin C is 90 mg for adults and children age 4 and older (it was 60 mg before the 2016 Nutrition Facts label update), and pregnant or lactating women are set at 120 mg, so there is no 190 mg FDA requirement. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements sets the Recommended Dietary Allowance at 90 mg per day for adult men and 75 mg per day for adult women. Smokers are advised to consume an additional 35 mg per day (bringing totals to roughly 125 mg for men and 110 mg for women), a flat daily adjustment tied to increased oxidative turnover, not a fixed depletion of 75 mg per individual cigarette. There is no authoritative support for either the 75 mg per cigarette figure or the 190 mg daily requirement.