Heart Association Eyes New Products Containing Tobacco

Source from:  By Mannix Porterfield REGISTER-HERALD REPORTER 09/17/2007

Marlboro Country is changing with the times. For some, that means the chiseled-face cowboy astride his faithful pony, riding a lonesome range to keep his cows from straying off, might not pull one from a familiar red and white pack and light up, but reach instead for a pouch of snus. To the uninitiated, snus - pronounced like "noose" with an "s" at the beginning - is a type of moist, ground tobacco, originating in Sweden and intended for oral use. Unlike other forms of smokeless tobacco, it relies on a unique flavor strip and dried tobacco that is spit-free. As health concerns mount over cigarettes, tobacco producers are eyeing more and more non-burning forms of their product, but the American Heart Association is not impressed. "There are a host of new products coming out of the market," says Chuck Hamsher, the lobbyist for the heart association in West Virginia. One such arrival is a white tablet that resembles an after-dinner mint, packaged in special tins. "You can suck on it, chew it and can actually swallow it," Hamsher said. Hamsher sees the new wave of such products as efforts to appeal to women, who cringe at the thought of spitting tobacco juice and abhor the idea of lighting up in public, and as also a means of getting youth hooked with colorful new offerings, packaged to grab their attention. "Snus is a marketing ploy," he said. "There are some perceived benefits, like you don't have to spit. You can swallow the juices." But the bottom line, Hamsher says, is that the alternative products contain the same poisonous alkaloid as cigarettes, the insidious nicotine linked to a variety of health maladies, particularly cancer. "I have to tip my hat to the industry," he says, noting it has created some sexy-looking products that mask the dangers of nicotine. Hamsher says the heart association isn't looking the other way, but instead plans to stay busy when lawmakers convene in January for the start of the 2008 session. Until then, he says, the group is conducting research on the new products to see whether existing statutes apply as to usage and to taxation. "We have one of the highest smokeless rates in the country," he said. Hamsher said the industry is obviously seeking to attract new and younger consumers with its appealing packaging of smokeless products. After all, he said, youths of the 21st century would hardly be inclined to "grab a bag of Mail Pouch as their grandfathers did," but could be enticed by the exotic packaging of newer products. "Our main objective is not only to look at snus but the whole variety of products," he said. Some years back, anti-tobacco forces persuaded lawmakers to outlaw the beedi, a thin and sometimes flavored cigarette that delivers three times as much carbon monoxide and nicotine, and five times the amount of tar. Rolling beedi is a cottage industry in India, a task routinely performed by women. "It was a starter cigarette for kids," Hamsher said. "It has a host of flavors - wild apple, cherry - and once kids got started on that, they got hooked right away." Bruce Adkins, director of the Division of Tobacco Prevention for the state Department of Health and Human Resources, says snus is different in another way - it must be kept refrigerated before it is sold. Keeping it cool tends to lessen the levels of cancer-causing agents, but once it is exposed to the atmosphere, the nitrosamiens and other carcinogens begin to surface, he says. In fact, Adkins notes, snus products are proven to contain a higher nicotine level than smoking tobacco products, and nicotine addiction is one of the toughest to abandon. Oral tobacco products expose users to mouth, pancreatic and other gastrointestinal cancers. On top of that, users run the risks of leukoplakia, or white mouth lesions that can turn cancerous, gum disease and recession, and resultant tooth decay. "We want the public to know these aren't safe alternatives to other forms of tobacco," Adkins says. "There is no safe tobacco use." Enditem