Source: Clove Cigarettes News Blog 

Objective: To investigate whether development of smokeless tobacco products (SLT) is intended to target current smokers. . . .

Conclusions: Heavy marketing of new SLT products may encourage dual use and result in unknown public health effects. SLT products have been designed to augment cigarette use and offset regulatory strategies such as clean indoor air laws. In the United States, the SLT strategy may provide cigarette companies with a diversified range of products under the prospect of federal regulation. These products may pose significant challenges to efforts by federal agencies to reduce harm caused by tobacco use.

Internal documents show that tobacco manufacturers, including cigarette and SLT companies, have developed and targeted new SLT products to exploit cigarette smokers. Cigarette manufacturers recognised the importance of entering the SLT market especially in light of health, social and legislative changes influencing the cigarette market and shifting demographics of traditional SLT users. Cigarette manufacturers were initially focused on developing alternative smokeless products for smokers who would otherwise quit because of the changes in the cigarette market. Over time, the cigarette companies appear to have focused their efforts on products designed to augment cigarette use when smoking is not possible, thus offsetting regulatory strategies such as clean indoor air laws.

Major cigarette companies’ marketing of new SLT products under established brand names may be aimed at increasing the appeal of SLT to smokers, who are not necessarily interested in quitting smoking. At the same time, SLT companies have aimed to exploit smokers by promoting SLT as a cigarette alternative in the face of smoking restrictions. UST and SM have developed and marketed new, spitless SLT to appeal to smokers.

The introduction of new SLT products raises important questions with regard to the health risks associated with these products, particularly in light of the possibility that cigarette manufacturers are promoting combined cigarette and SLT use. Heavy marketing of SLT products to smokers by both industries may encourage dual use, and, thus, result in unknown and potentially harmful public health effects. Camel Snus marketing materials, for example, describe the product as “A tasty new tobacco pleasure for wherever” stating “You Can Snus virtually anywhere, from work to bars to trains to your fussy friend’s party”. Test markets for Camel Snus have included college communities. This corresponds with internal documents showing that college males were considered an important growth market for moist snuff. Further, college students are subject to campus and worksite smoking bans and may be enticed by the attractive marketing campaign.

The increased availability and use of SLT as a harm reduction method remains a controversial issue within the public health community.52 Although new SLT products contain lower levels of total carcinogens, these products still contain potentially harmful levels of toxicants including tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) and, thus, could result in adverse health consequences when used alone or as a smoking substitute.52 53 Assessment of internal SLT research may lead health researchers to an improved understanding of the possible role of SLT in maintaining tobacco dependence.

Nevertheless, the findings of this study should be considered in relation to the limitations associated with document-based research methodology. Internal documents disclose statements and conclusions from various authors representing various tobacco manufacturers that do not represent a complete set of documents. Additionally, the documents span a wide time period and do not represent a complete set of documents. In this study, documents were retrieved through 2006, which may not account for more recent developments in the tobacco market. Despite these limitations, document-based studies have contributed a wealth of important evidence to the published literature regarding internal industry research and practice.

What this paper adds

* Our study results show that tobacco manufacturers, including cigarette and SLT companies, have developed and targeted new SLT products to exploit cigarette smokers. These products have been designed to augment cigarette use when smoking is not possible, thus offsetting regulatory strategies such as clean indoor air laws.

* Heavy marketing of SLT products to smokers by both industries may encourage dual use and, thus, result in unknown and potentially harmful public health effects.

* Assessment of internal SLT research may lead health researchers to an improved understanding of the possible role of SLT in maintaining tobacco dependence.

Future studies should examine entry of tobacco manufacturers into the international SLT market, particularly in developing countries with limited tobacco control measures.