smokeless tobacco – Page 10

Smokeless, not safe

Source: www.sltrib.com Author: Tribune editorial Tobacco-product marketers face an uncommon business problem: They have to lure new customers to replace the nearly half-million Americans who are killed by their products each year. These folks are smart or, should we say, devious. They know that some people never start smoking simply because they don't like the smell on their clothing and their breath, or because laws prevent them smoking indoors and they don't want to face the social stigma associated with lighting up outdoors or chewing and spitting. And some smart and determined smokers are able to quit for the same reasons. So, these clever marketers have come up with new tobacco products that smell minty, produce no smoke or need to spit, and can be used discreetly. They claim the new smokeless tobacco isn't aimed at teenagers, but the evidence clearly indicates otherwise. They have catchy names like Snus, Orbs and Stride and come packaged in brightly colored, cell-phone-size containers. Some look and taste like candy. They can be carried and used without parents or teachers catching on. And they contain so much highly addictive nicotine -- triple the amount in cigarettes -- and they're so easy to use, that once a kid gets hooked, he or she usually stays hooked. Even better for tobacco pushers, they often move on to cigarettes once they're addicted, and studies show the younger people are when they start smoking, the harder it is to quit. For tobacco companies, it looks like problem solved. [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-11-14T12:28:14-07:00November, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Today’s smokeless tobacco is just as addictive and marketed to the young

Source: www.timesleader.com Author: Geri Anne Kaikowski It’s a misconception that just because you don’t smoke nicotine, it is less addictive and less dangerous than a cigarette. That’s the fallacy and danger behind a marketing ploy for a new take on a centuries old product, snuff. Whereas the old snuff, popular in the 1970s and 1980s in round paper containers or bags under the name Copenhagen or Skoal, was chewed and spit out, today’s snuff comes in fancy containers with equally avant-garde aromas and names. And unlike its predecessor, this snuff isn’t pinched into one’s gums or chewed, it’s inhaled through the nostrils. And it isn’t being used just by baseball players or teenage boys emulating their sports idols. Snuff is being marketed to tweens, teens and college students, both female and male, as hip, cool and healthy. It’s available for a nominal cost with a simple click online. Yet, it’s anything but harmless, according to an area ear, nose and throat specialist, who is concerned that in any form, nicotine is extremely addictive. And what makes snuff so dangerous is that it doesn’t fall under any federal regulations, according to a local tobacco expert. Many feel it’s the burning and inhaling of tobacco that exposes users to most carcinogens. Some specialists feel that, for health reasons, if you are going to use tobacco, you are better off using nasal snuff. But nasal snuff contains nicotine and is highly addictive, says Dr. Zephron Newmark, an ENT specialist with Geisinger [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-10-13T03:44:09-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

CDC finds poisons in dissolvable tobacco products

Source: Notobacco Author: Staff Since the beginning of this year, Indianapolis has been a test market for new dissolvable tobacco products, mostly from Camel. These are smokeless, spit-free, made from finely milled tobacco, and held together by food-grade binders. They look like breath mints, breath strips, or toothpicks, and are designed to be placed in the mouth, on the tongue or between the cheek and gum, where they dissolve to release tobacco. Dissolvable tobacco products are now available in Daviess County in the form of Stonewall dissolvable tablets. The manufacturer, Star Scientific, states that Stonewalls are designed for heavy smokers and spit tobacco users. This company also makes Ariva brand dissolvable tablets. Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency feels the tobacco companies are illegally using Hoosiers as unwitting participants in a potentially dangerous clinical trial of these products since they were not tested for safety before being sold to the public, as food products, drugs, and cosmetics would be. Dissolvable tobacco products may contain up to three times the amount of nicotine found in one cigarette. A cigarette smoker typically takes in about 1 milligram of nicotine. Camel dissolvable products are said to deliver about 0.6 to 3.1 milligrams of nicotine each, Ariva tablets have about 1.5 millgrams of nicotine each, and Stonewall tablets have about 4 milligrams of nicotine each. People who use these products may get a higher dose of nicotine than they are used to, possibly resulting in nicotine poisoning, which manifests through adverse reactions such as tremors, [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-10-06T20:21:43-07:00October, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

A different camel is back in the glossies

Source: nytimes.com Author: Andrew Adam Newman The two largest tobacco companies in the United States voluntarily stopped advertising cigarettes in magazines, with Philip Morris, whose brands include Marlboro, ceasing in 2005 and R. J. Reynolds, whose brands include Camel, at the beginning of 2008. Now the Camel logo is back prominently in major glossies, including Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated and Maxim — but not to advertise cigarettes. R. J. Reynolds is advertising Camel Snus, a tobacco packet that wedges in the upper lip and, unlike chewing tobacco, is promoted as “spitless” because low salt content spares users the unpleasantness of public expectoration. Although snus is popular in Sweden, this is the first time it has been marketed in the United States by a major American tobacco company. The campaign, by Quaker City Mercantile in Philadelphia, pitches Camel Snus (pronounced snoose) as a way around smoking bans. The ads cater to specific magazine audiences, with a recent issue of Rolling Stone promoting snus as “sweaty outdoor festival friendly” and one in Sports Illustrated declaring it “extra inning friendly.” Others call snus “your flight just got canceled friendly,” “ridiculously long conference call friendly” and “fancy hotel friendly.” David Howard, an R. J. Reynolds spokesman, said that the company had not reversed its magazine policy, but that this was a Camel of another color. “We do not advertise cigarettes in print right now and have not done that for a couple years, but Camel Snus is not a cigarette,” Mr. Howard said. “This [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-09-23T13:54:31-07:00September, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Comparison of genotoxic effect between smokeless tobacco (Maras powder) users and cigarette smokers by the alkaline comet assay

Source: het.sagepub.com Authors: S Sardas et al. Maras powder (MP) is a kind of smokeless tobacco used in the south-eastern region of Turkey and in several other countries of Middle and Far East. The present study was performed to assess the impacts of MP and cigarette smoking on the possible DNA damaging effect. Alkaline comet assay, which is a reliable and an important tool in human biomonitoring studies in the area of genetic toxicology, was used in peripheral lymphocytes of MP users, cigarette smokers, and non-smokers while their frequencies of total comet scores (TCS) were evaluated. The mean TCS (±SD) frequency in the peripheral lymphocytes was 14.4 (±10.04) for MP users and 8.26 (±5.38), 5.94 (±3.87) for cigarette smokers (P

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-09-05T11:50:47-07:00September, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Snuff and chewing tobacco linked to increased risk of fatal MI or stroke

Source: WebMD Author: Marlene Busko Lyon, France - Smokeless tobacco—such as snuff and chewing tobacco—is not harmless when it comes to heart health, according to a new meta-analysis [1]. A review of 11 studies from Sweden and the US, almost entirely in men, showed that smokeless-tobacco users had an increased risk of death from MI or stroke. The study, by researchers at the International Agency for Research on Cancer(IARC), is published online August 18, 2009 in BMJ. Contrary to common belief that smokeless tobacco has very little effect on health, these products have been shown to increase cancer risk, coauthor and IARC researcher Dr Kurt Straif (Lyon, France) told heartwire. "There is sufficient evidence for a causal association between smokeless tobacco and oral and pancreatic cancer [2] and probably also esophageal cancer [3]," he said. "Now, this study adds evidence that smokeless tobacco causes death from cardiovascular diseases," Straif summarized. Widespread, growing use of snus Types of smokeless tobacco used in North America and Europe include dry snuff that is inhaled, as well as moist snuff (called snus in Sweden) and chewing tobacco (or spit tobacco), which are sucked inside the cheek. These products have been around for centuries, and after a decline in consumption for most of the 20th century, use has rebounded in the past few decades, the authors write. In 2000, 23.9% of men and 4.1% of women in Sweden reported using snus daily or occasionally. In the same year, in the US, 4.4% of men and 0.3% of women were [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-08-19T12:14:50-07:00August, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

New products ingenious or insidious?

Source: www.mailtribune.com Author: John Darling The use of smokeless tobacco in Jackson County has steadily risen in recent years among teens and adults — and now, officials fear the introduction earlier this year of new, candy-flavored "dissolvable tobacco" lozenges will make matters worse. Called Orbs, the pellets, which look and taste like breath mints, contain as much nicotine as a cigarette and could cause cancer of the mouth and throat, said Jane Stevenson, tobacco program coordinator for the county. Among eighth-grade males in Jackson County, use of smokeless tobacco jumped from 2 percent in 2001 to 7 percent in 2006, reported Stevenson. Among 11th-grade males, it rose from 10 percent in 2001 to 16 percent in 2006. Among adults here, 3 percent use smokeless tobacco. These figures are 1 to 4 percent higher than the state rates. "The increase of smokeless tobacco use here among teens is significant and alarming — and dissolvable tobacco is just as addictive as smoking," said Stevenson. "They are packaged to look hip and trendy and they carry the Camel logo. Usually, people are very loyal to their tobacco brand." The introduction of dissolvable tobacco pellets is in response to new laws prohibiting smoking in bars, restaurants and the workplace, said Mike Welch, owner of Puff's Magazine & Fine Tobacco, an Ashland smoke shop. The target market for dissolvable pellets, Welch added, is people who buy low-end generic cigarettes. His store won't be selling them, he said, because too many of his customers are concerned [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-07-03T05:00:33-07:00July, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

FDA bad news for snus?

Source: www.cspnet.com Author: staff The subject of putting tobacco under the control of the federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has divided the industry. Such regulation may also end product innovation, according to Forbes magazine. The report cites Reynolds American Inc.'s Camel Snus, the spit-free flavored pouch of pasteurized tobacco sold chilled in tins, as an example of the kind of innovation may be the last of its kind after this year's tobacco regulation bill, sponsored by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), turns into law. The legislation is expected to easily pass through the Senate on Tuesday or Wednesday, after getting cleared by the House in April, and then quickly get a presidential signature. After test runs in Columbus, Ohio, and Portland, Ore., three years ago, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Winston-Salem, N.C., now sells Camel Snus in 100,000 locations nationwide. A tin of 15 costs $4.50. (Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage.) The bill has divided the industry. Altria Group Inc., which makes market-leading Marlboro cigarettes though Phillip Morris USA, Richmond, Va., helped write the bill, which critics say will institutionalize that company's market share. The No. 2 tobacco maker, Reynolds American, which makes Camels through RJR, has been waging the battle against it. Altria is testing Marlboro Snus in Dallas and Indianapolis. (Click here for previous CSP Daily News coverage of Altria's other tobacco products strategy.) Kennedy's bill would allow the FDA to play gatekeeper to tobacco products like snus and newer smokeless tobacco lozenges and sticks. The [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-06-02T20:50:28-07:00June, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

House bill curbs advertising, increases taxes on smokeless tobacco

Source: The Clackamas Review Author: News Team A vending display for Snus, a smokeless, spitless tobacco Camel first marketed in Portland and Austin, Texas. A new house bill would limit advertising for such products while increasing taxes on them. JIM CLARK / PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP The bill also bans the practice of handing out samples The Oregon House today passed a bill that would require all smokeless tobacco products to adhere to federally mandated marketing restrictions placed on older existing brands in an effort to curb youth advertising campaigns. The legislation would also increase the tax on such products. The bill, co-sponsored by House Speaker Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone, came about partially as a response to the proliferation of smokeless tobacco products critics said targeted young customers. In 2006, Camel used the Portland region and Austin, Texas as test markets for its Snus smokeless tobacco. Smoking cessation advocates cried foul, saying the colorful ads with their rhyming slogans were designed to attract young people. The bill also prevents companies from handing out free samples of smokeless tobacco, something Rep. Carloyn Tomei, D-Milwaukie, said was happening everywhere from the streets of Portland to rodeos and fairs in eastern Oregon, particularly since Washington already has a ban. She introduced a similar bill earlier this year. “Oregon has become the place where they have campaigns for smokeless tobacco,” she said. “They’re handing out free Snus samples, and to whom did they hand it out? Not people my age; it’s the young ones.” The bill would [...]

Charlotte Parker2009-04-23T12:49:25-07:00April, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Bill would bar sales of dissolvable tobacco

Source: wvgazette.com Author: Alison Knezevich In 2007, public health officials in West Virginia warned consumers about "snus," ground tobacco packaged in a teabag-like pouch. Now, some lawmakers want to draw more attention to the growing variety of smokeless tobacco products. A bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday would bar the sale of "dissolvable tobacco products" in West Virginia. Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia, said it was highly unlikely the bill would pass this late in the legislative session. But he introduced it to start a discussion about the increasing use of smokeless tobacco products among teens, he said. "I just thought we should start a public debate," he said. Earlier this week, members of the teen anti-tobacco group Raze visited the Capitol for Tobacco Free Day, he said. Students from Oliverio's district told him about new dissolvable tobacco products, which take the form of dissolvable sticks, strips, and tablets. The kids said some teens use the smokeless tobacco products while sitting in class, Oliverio said. "It's scary stuff out there," he said. One of the newest products are Camel Orbs, dissolvable tobacco tablets packaged like mints. They hit the shelves in January. So far, the product is only available in three U.S. cities, said R.J Reynolds Tobacco Co. spokesman David Howard: Columbus, Ohio; Portland, Ore. and Indianapolis. They are made of finely milled tobacco and food-grade binders, he said. "These types of products, we believe, meet the needs of adult smokers," Howard said. Howard said such products let [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-04-03T13:35:16-07:00April, 2009|Oral Cancer News|