As a kid I used to sit on the floor beside my father’s easy chair when his best friend, Bill, visited from out of state.  Bill was a cigar smoker and I loved the smell of cigars. When stationed beside the chair I was in position to savor the aroma of these stogies.  The big surprise came the day when Bill leaned over the chair and let go a spit of tobacco juice into a coffee can narrowly missing my head….. I hadn’t been expecting that!

New smoke-free tobacco products are flooding the market.  This is not your “pass the spit can” chewing tobacco.  These are designed to be spit-free and some are even dissolvable.  They are intended to be “discrete, odor-free, and spit-free.”  In flavors like mint, wintergreen and even java, they are trying to capture a new segment of those who use tobacco.  Oh, and let’s not forget about those who don’t currently use tobacco – they’re on the radar screen too.

Marlboro Snus….Camel Snus…General Snus…Ariva…Stonewall…. These products are being aggressively promoted by the tobacco industry as a “safer alternative to smoking”.  They come in packaging that looks like chewing gum or Tic-Tacs.  With marketing claims that smack of wine and gourmet coffee they state, “…slightly peppery with hints of citrus zest and balanced tobacco notes……”

General Snus has been on the market in Sweden for many decades.  It has been the prototype for these new products in that it is not fermented like most US brands, such as Copenhagen, Skoal, and Kodiak.  Instead it has been pasteurized and this removes much of the primary carcinogen from the tobacco – nitrosamines.  The incidence of oral cancer in Sweden is very, very low.  The number of smokers has been steadily declining in Sweden in the last 20 years as more and more smokers go over to Swedish snus.  And that’s a good thing, since smoking is a leading cause of disease and death.

But the US public health community is polarized over whether smokers who are not ready to quit smoking should be encouraged to switch to smoke-free tobacco products.  Few dispute that smoke-free products are safer than cigarettes, but all recognize that these products are not “safe.” 

The issues and arguments are many and complex.  They include those who feel that those in public health should advocate for abstinence from all tobacco, not just smoked tobacco, as well as those who express valid caution over the long-term health consequences from use of these products.  Many feel the tobacco industry, which is notorious for disregarding the health of Americans for the almighty buck, are pulling an end-run around smoke-free laws and are not be trusted.

Reducing the number of Americans who use smoked tobacco is an essential part of improving health in this country.  Some feel these new smoke-free tobacco products move us towards that goal.  Others do not.

What do you think?