A survey of 1,000 British smokers found that about a quarter believed -- wrongly -- that hand-rolled cigarettes are less risky than manufactured ones, the BBC reported May 30.

The findings by the National Health Service's Smoking Helpline were significant because the number of smokers rolling their own cigarettes has doubled since 1990 -- to 24 percent of U.K. smokers -- and researchers say that hand-rolled cigarettes may in fact be more dangerous than store-bought cigarettes.

"[Smokers] should not delude themselves that they are somehow more natural or less toxic," said Martin Jarvis, a professor at University College in London. Public health minister Caroline Flint added, "It's so important that we debunk the myths associated with rolling tobacco -- it's not less harmful, it's not more natural and you're just as likely to develop smoking-related illnesses."

Other motivations for hand-rolling cited by smokers included lower costs and that making their own cigarettes helps cut consumption.