Reynolds American to the CTFK: Stick to the Facts II

Source from:  tobaccoreporter.com Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, Tuesday, June 19, 2 06/20/2007

R. J. Reynolds has struck back at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids over its strategy involving the rollout of a new smokeless product. "Decreasing the health risk and harm directly associated with the use of tobacco products is in everyone's best interests," said Tommy J. Payne, executive vice president of public affairs for Reynolds American Inc., parent company of four tobacco businesses. "The critical question is, what is the best way to accomplish that? "In a press release issued yesterday, the Center for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) again espouses its exclusive strategy for reducing the health impact of smoking: the 'quit or die' philosophy," Payne said. "In doing so, the CTFK failed to fully characterize scientific findings it cites from the May 10, 2007, edition of The Lancet, a British scientific journal. The studies found that Swedish users of snus, a smokeless tobacco product, were not at an increased risk for lung cancer or oral cancer compared to nonsmokers, and that while the risk of pancreatic cancer for snus users was higher than that of nonsmokers, it was lower than that of smokers. "The CTFK may find it 'troubling' that R.J. Reynolds has introduced new smokeless tobacco products such as snus," Payne said. "However, scientific studies continue to demonstrate there is a continuum of risk associated with tobacco use, particularly the relative risk between combustible and noncombustible tobacco products. Various types of tobacco and nicotine products present different types and levels of risk to adult tobacco consumers." In a scientific commentary published with the studies on snus in The Lancet, the authors stated: "The papers in The Lancet, when added to mounting epidemiological evidence, indicate that we should not delay in allowing snus to compete with cigarettes for market share, and we should be prepared to accurately inform smokers about the relative risks of cigarettes, snus, and approved smoking-cessation medications." While these authors "are not suggesting that clinicians advise their smoking patients to switch to snus, when safe and effective medications are available to treat cigarette dependence", they do conclude that "the banning or exaggerated opposition to snus in cigarette-rife environments is not sound public-health policy." "The growing body of scientific evidence on the continuum risks of the use of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco products and other nicotine products requires serious consideration, not unilateral dismissal, by CTFK and others," Payne said. Enditem