April 19, 2010 - A research study and editorial published today, Monday, April 19th in the medical journal Pediatrics takes direct aim at a novel tobacco product that some critics say too closely resembles Tic Tac breath mints.
PAPER: Unintentional Child Poisonings Through Ingestion of Conventional and Novel Tobacco Products Gregory N. Connolly, DMD, MPH, Patricia Richter, PhD, Alfred Aleguas, Jr, PharmD, Terry F. Pechacek, PhD, Stephen B. Stanfill, MS, Hillel R. Alpert, ScM, PEDIATRICS (doi:10.1542/peds.2009-2835) published online April 19, 2010, ABSTRACT..
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Camel Dissolvables Products: Orbs (spherical object), which is a pellet (dissolves in the mouth, like breath mints) that lasts about 15 minutes; Sticks (twisted) can be placed in the mouth like a toothpick or broken into a pieces that are placed between the upper lip and gum, where they dissolve after 10 minutes; and edible film Strips for the tongue, which dissolve after about 3 minutes (e.g., like Listerine PocketPak breath strips). Flavors - Strips will come in fresh mint flavor and Sticks in Mellow; Orbs will be available in both flavors.
Each product is convenient user-friendly dosage form containing amounts of the nicotine to render the user a slave to this addictive substance for many years to come. As pointed out by Dr. Connolly these nicotine dosage forms are easier to tolerate so kids will become possible life-long nicotine addicts at a much younger age compared with cigarette initiation.
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco is test marketing these tobacco products in three cities: Columbus, OH, Indianapolis, IN and Portland, OR. Orbs was launched in January 2009 but the others did not follow until August 2009. Camel Orbs has been changed already and the packaging for Camel Sticks has been altered.
Reynolds spokespeople always say that dissolvables like Camel Orbs are marketed only for adults but we know that tobacco marketing is carefully designed to appeal to the young. This includes young adults and all the kids that want to be like young adults. Deb Strouse, president of the Ohio Association of School Nurses, doesn't buy it. "It's something that looks like a treat, and we find it reprehensible that people put tobacco into these kinds of products," said Strouse, a nurse in the Columbus school district. "Even if they say they're not advertising to children, we know the products are attractive to children." (Camel Dissolvables - Columbus, OH - Tobacco mints a lot like candy?)
Just look at some of the advertising for the Camel family of tobacco products..
Click to enlarge..
Camel Orbs come in child-proof packaging in an attempt to convince the general public that it is not being marketed to children. Nicotine is one of the most potent substances known to man. As a poison it is second only to the cyanides in its destructive effect on the human body. Fortunately, in the cigarette most of the nicotine is destroyed when the tobacco is burned. For smokeless tobacco like dissolvables, which are held in the mouth, the amount released into the body tends to be much greater than smoked tobacco. Whereas a cigarette smoker typically takes in about 1 milligram of nicotine, the Camel Dissolvables and related smokeless tobacco are said to deliver about 0.6 to 3.1 mg of nicotine each. (Poison Control Centers - Camel Dissolvables - Nicotine Toxicity..)
U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon co-sponsored an amendment that was included in the new law and required the F.D.A. to study dissolvable products within two years. Depending on the outcome of that review, the agency could ban them or require product changes. (U.S. Senate Health Committee Adopts Merkley-Brown Amendment on Tobacco Candy..)
In a commentary in Pediatrics, Dr. Laurence R. Deyton, director of the newly formed Center for Tobacco Products at the Food and Drug Administration, and Dr. Marisa L. Cruz, also from the center, wrote about the “unique concerns” of dissolvable tobacco. “The candy-like appearance, added flavors, and easily concealable size of many of these products may be particularly appealing to children and adolescents,” they wrote.
The dissolvable products are the second priority for review by the FDA office, after menthol cigarettes, under legislation passed by Congress last year. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. early this month complied with a federal request for information about three innovative dissolvable smokeless products.
For further information see reference below..
Reference: Flavored Tobacco Pellets Are Denounced as a Lure to Young Users by DUFF WILSON, The New York Times, 4/18/2010.
A few related news briefs:
Dissolving Tobacco Hits Columbus, OH Test Market - see VIDEO..;
Portland, Oregon - Camel ORBS - candy-like tobacco tablets..;
U.S. - A contradiction H.R. 1261 Youth Prevention and Tobacco Harm Reduction..;
R.J. Reynolds Smokeless so safe - not fair to tax.??;
U.S. group acknowledged that smokeless-tobacco products are an option for reducing health risks for tobacco users..;
Poison Control Centers - Camel Dissolvables - Nicotine Toxicity..; Nasal snuff another harm reduction product..;
Why does R.J. Reynolds Tobacco keep on selecting Portland, OR as a test site..;
Camel Tobacco Dissolvables - Natl Assoc of Attorneys General - wait and see!!;
STOP the Release of Dissolvable Tobacco Products..;
We must stop the launch of dissolvable tobacco products..; Reynolds America moving ahead with dissolvable tobacco products..;
STOP - the Proliferation of Flavored Tobacco Products..;
R.J. Reynolds Dissolvables - it looks like candy..;
Snus News & Other Tobacco Products: STOP - the Proliferation of Flavored Tobacco Products..
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