Glaxo Smith Kline calls on U.S. govt to eliminate dissolvable tobacco products..

September 28, 2010 - Glaxo Smiht Kline (GSK) called for U.S. government to remove so-called dissolvable smokeless products from the market..

GSK Consumer Healthcare, a leader in helping smokers quit and the marketer of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products, including Nicorette® and NicoDerm® CQ®, supports the findings of the American Heart Association (AHA) policy statement regarding smokeless tobacco products. GSK Consumer Healthcare agrees that these products should not be used as an alternative to cigarettes or for smoking cessation due to the potential negative health consequences and their impact on smoking behavior.

The AHA statement is important because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just finished accepting comments from the public on how FDA should regulate certain smokeless tobacco products. GSK Consumer Healthcare submitted a comment to the FDA on the potential public health impact of oral dissolvable tobacco products. In our submission, GSK Consumer Healthcare called for oral dissolvable tobacco products to be withdrawn from the market until their sponsors can demonstrate to FDA that their marketing is appropriate for the protection of public health.

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.

The much smaller Star Scientific sells dissolvable products such as Ariva and Stonewall - see images below.

When the FDA began regulating the tobacco industry last year, one of its orders of business was to decide how to regulate dissolvable tobacco. (U.S. Senate Health Committee Adopts Merkley-Brown Amendment on Tobacco Candy..)

GSK made its comments to the FDA's request for input from the public.

Background: R.J. Reynolds Dissolvables - it looks like candy..



Image below - recent Star Scientific promotion for Stonewall Hard Snuff Pieces - found in a grocery store. Star Scientific also makes Ariva Dissolvable Tobacco Pieces..




Please note: The bulk of the American Heart Association revenue comes from individual contributions, accounting for 46.0 percent, while contributions from corporations account for 27.9 percent. Some of these corporations are pharmaceutical companies and some of these market nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) medications.

References: A Statement from GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare on FDA Regulation of Smokeless Tobacco Products, SOURCE GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, PR Newswire, 9/27/2010; Glaxo Aims to Snuff Out 'Dissolvable' Tobacco Items by David Kesmodel, The Wall Street Journal, 9/28/2010 - hardcopy.