Smokeless Tobacco Update
Read More:? Canada Snus Update Page 2
Smokeless tobacco a good thing
Re “Big tobacco tries new lure” (Jan. 8): Mindelle Jacobs’ one-sided commentary about the introduction of snus (an addictive smokeless tobacco, packaged in a tea bag-size sachet which is placed in the mouth) to smokers in Edmonton reads like a press release from the prohibitionist Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC), and it provides a grossly distorted picture of tobacco harm reduction.
“You snus, you lose” may be a cute turn of phrase, but it irresponsibly ignores the 46,000 inveterate Canadian smokers who will die this year because they couldn’t quit.
Jacobs dismissively mentions “Snus is less harmful than smoking cigarettes…” but doesn’t make the comparison explicit. Britain’s Royal College of Physicians did just that in a 2002 report, which stated “As a way of using nicotine, the consumption of non-combustible (smokeless) tobacco is on the order of 10-1,000 times less hazardous than smoking, depending on the product.”
Jacobs parrots PSC numbers on Canadian and Swedish smoking rates, giving the illusion they are very similar, but she doesn’t discuss rates from lung cancer, the sentinel disease and true barometer of smoking in any society.
According to the World Health Organization, the lung cancer rate among Canadian women is 77.7 (deaths per 100,000 population, 40+ years of age), compared with 43.4 among Swedish women. Swedish men have an even lower rate compared with men in Canada, 63.1 vs. 133.7, which is precisely due to snus use among the Swedes. Smoking rates are declining in Canada, but they have a long way to go before they are truly comparable with Sweden.
Jacobs and the PSC don’t want smokers to know smokeless use is 98% safer than smoking, so they dismiss Imperial Tobacco’s introduction of snus as “marketing brilliance.”
The Royal College of Physicians also showed brilliance in 2002 when it reported some manufacturers may want to market their products “as a ‘harm reduction’ option for nicotine users, and they may find support for that in the public health community.” The Royal College went further in a 2007 treatise, making “the case for harm reduction strategies to protect smokers. We demonstrate that smokers smoke predominantly for nicotine, that nicotine itself is not especially hazardous, and if nicotine could be provided in a form that is acceptable and effective as a cigarette substitute, millions of lives could be saved.”
In the legitimate public health community it’s all about saving lives; for anti-tobacco extremists it’s only about fighting the industry.
The health community’s original aim, to help smokers live longer and healthier lives, was and continues to be a matter of life and death for 5 million Canadians who smoke. But fanatical anti-tobacco crusaders are undercutting that admirable goal, spewing misinformation and denying smokers life-saving facts about safer and satisfying tobacco products.
The fanatics should know better. Inveterate smokers deserve better.
Brad Rodu Professor of Medicine Endowed Chair,
Tobacco Harm Reduction Research? University of Louisville, ky.
Jacobs and the PSC don’t want smokers to know smokeless use is 98% safer than smoking, so they dismiss Imperial Tobacco’s introduction of snus as “marketing brilliance.”
The Royal College of Physicians also showed brilliance in 2002 when it reported some manufacturers may want to market their products “as a ‘harm reduction’ option for nicotine users, and they may find support for that in the public health community.” The Royal College went further in a 2007 treatise, making “the case for harm reduction strategies to protect smokers. We demonstrate that smokers smoke predominantly for nicotine, that nicotine itself is not especially hazardous, and if nicotine could be provided in a form that is acceptable and effective as a cigarette substitute, millions of lives could be saved.”
In the legitimate public health community it’s all about saving lives; for anti-tobacco extremists it’s only about fighting the industry.
The health community’s original aim, to help smokers live longer and healthier lives, was and continues to be a matter of life and death for 5 million Canadians who smoke. But fanatical anti-tobacco crusaders are undercutting that admirable goal, spewing misinformation and denying smokers life-saving facts about safer and satisfying tobacco products.
The fanatics should know better. Inveterate smokers deserve better.
Brad Rodu Professor of Medicine Endowed Chair,
Tobacco Harm Reduction Research? University of Louisville, ky.
Big tobacco tries new lure
Tue, January 8, 2008
By MINDELLE JACOBS
In a touch of marketing brilliance, Imperial Tobacco is promoting an alternative to cigarettes — an addictive smokeless tobacco called snus.
The tobacco product, a tea bag-sized sachet that’s placed in the mouth between the teeth and the gums, is currently being test-marketed in Edmonton, to the chagrin of Canadian anti-tobacco activists.
“You give any opening to the tobacco companies and they will exploit it enormously,” says Rob Cunningham, policy analyst for the Canadian Cancer Society.
“(Snus) is still linked to cancer and the tobacco industry is marketing this product in a way to get around smoking bans and we know that smoking bans are one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking,” he says.
Imperial Tobacco recently ran two half-page ads in the Edmonton Journal promoting snus under the du Maurier brand. Their “pasteurized” tobacco (makes it sound healthy, doesn’t it?) is smoke-free, flame-free and spit-free, the ad explains. To be fair, the ad also stresses in large letters that “this product is highly addictive.”
It makes you wonder why Imperial Tobacco isn’t promoting the patch or nicotine gum if it’s so interested in being a good corporate citizen and reducing addiction. Oh, right, there’s no money in that.
Snus users don’t chew and spit, like with chewing tobacco. Instead, the nicotine is slowly absorbed through the mucous membranes of the mouth.
16 SACHETS DAILY
A typical user, according to a recent report on snus by Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC), consumes about 16 sachets a day. The average user keeps snus in the mouth for 11 to 14 hours a day.
Snus is less harmful than smoking cigarettes because it doesn’t contribute to oral cancer or cardiovascular disease. But it has been linked to increased rates of pancreatic cancer. And it’s addictive.
It’s true that Sweden has slightly lower rates of daily smoking among men than Canada. But the overall smoking rate (daily and occasional) is 26% in Sweden, compared with only 19% here, according to the PSC report.
And the overall smoking rates among Swedish women are also much higher than those of Canadian women.
In fact, when smokeless products are included, about half of adults in Sweden use tobacco products, compared to only about 20% of Canadian adults.
So much for the use of snus as a harm-reduction strategy. Between 1994 and 2004, the per capita use of cigarettes declined by 39% in Canada, but it only dropped by 24% in Sweden. But snus use rose 34% over that time period in Sweden. Is this the result we want — one addiction replaced by another?
If Canada and Sweden continue to reduce smoking at current rates, smoking among men will be close to zero within 20 years in Canada, but 12% in Sweden, PSC predicts.
“It may be true that people are better off taking their nicotine from another source other than cigarettes and I’ll accept that,” says PSC executive director Cynthia Callard. “But there’s no need for it to be a tobacco-based product. There are patches, there’s nicotine gum and there are nicotine inhalers.”
The du Maurier snus ads, she says, may prompt some to try cigarettes as well. In Sweden, people smoke some days and use snus other days.
Some public health experts in other countries support snus, arguing it’s safer than cigarettes. But there’s still that addiction thing. Beware: You snus, you lose.
Tue, January 8, 2008
By MINDELLE JACOBS
In a touch of marketing brilliance, Imperial Tobacco is promoting an alternative to cigarettes — an addictive smokeless tobacco called snus.
The tobacco product, a tea bag-sized sachet that’s placed in the mouth between the teeth and the gums, is currently being test-marketed in Edmonton, to the chagrin of Canadian anti-tobacco activists.
“You give any opening to the tobacco companies and they will exploit it enormously,” says Rob Cunningham, policy analyst for the Canadian Cancer Society.
“(Snus) is still linked to cancer and the tobacco industry is marketing this product in a way to get around smoking bans and we know that smoking bans are one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking,” he says.
Imperial Tobacco recently ran two half-page ads in the Edmonton Journal promoting snus under the du Maurier brand. Their “pasteurized” tobacco (makes it sound healthy, doesn’t it?) is smoke-free, flame-free and spit-free, the ad explains. To be fair, the ad also stresses in large letters that “this product is highly addictive.”
It makes you wonder why Imperial Tobacco isn’t promoting the patch or nicotine gum if it’s so interested in being a good corporate citizen and reducing addiction. Oh, right, there’s no money in that.
Snus users don’t chew and spit, like with chewing tobacco. Instead, the nicotine is slowly absorbed through the mucous membranes of the mouth.
16 SACHETS DAILY
A typical user, according to a recent report on snus by Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada (PSC), consumes about 16 sachets a day. The average user keeps snus in the mouth for 11 to 14 hours a day.
Snus is less harmful than smoking cigarettes because it doesn’t contribute to oral cancer or cardiovascular disease. But it has been linked to increased rates of pancreatic cancer. And it’s addictive.
It’s true that Sweden has slightly lower rates of daily smoking among men than Canada. But the overall smoking rate (daily and occasional) is 26% in Sweden, compared with only 19% here, according to the PSC report.
And the overall smoking rates among Swedish women are also much higher than those of Canadian women.
In fact, when smokeless products are included, about half of adults in Sweden use tobacco products, compared to only about 20% of Canadian adults.
So much for the use of snus as a harm-reduction strategy. Between 1994 and 2004, the per capita use of cigarettes declined by 39% in Canada, but it only dropped by 24% in Sweden. But snus use rose 34% over that time period in Sweden. Is this the result we want — one addiction replaced by another?
If Canada and Sweden continue to reduce smoking at current rates, smoking among men will be close to zero within 20 years in Canada, but 12% in Sweden, PSC predicts.
“It may be true that people are better off taking their nicotine from another source other than cigarettes and I’ll accept that,” says PSC executive director Cynthia Callard. “But there’s no need for it to be a tobacco-based product. There are patches, there’s nicotine gum and there are nicotine inhalers.”
The du Maurier snus ads, she says, may prompt some to try cigarettes as well. In Sweden, people smoke some days and use snus other days.
Some public health experts in other countries support snus, arguing it’s safer than cigarettes. But there’s still that addiction thing. Beware: You snus, you lose.
Tobacco hypocrisy
Thu, September 13, 2007
By KERRY DIOTTE
To hardcore anti-smoking activists, a meeting with Benjamin J. Kemball would be akin to a date with Lucifer.
But Kemball doesn’t have a tail or cloven feet. In fact, when I met him yesterday, he came across as a very professional, well-spoken guy who just happens to be president and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada.
He appeared at a Sun editorial board meeting to reveal that Imperial has chosen Edmonton to test-market a new tobacco product, popular in Sweden, that’s known by the awkward name, snus (kind of rhymes with moose).
It’s a pasteurized tobacco contained in tiny tea bag-material packets that users stick between their upper lip and gum. It’s billed as a non-chew, no-spit oral tobacco.
The claim from Imperial is that snus – the Swedish word for snuff – is a “reduced-harm” tobacco product containing nicotine that’s substantially less harmful than smokes or chewing tobacco. Kemball quotes a Swedish study as concluding that those who used the product had no increased risk of lung or oral cancer compared to people who had never smoked.
Snus will be available in Edmonton by month-end under the du Maurier brand. A tin will contain 20 small portions of the product that will cost about $7.
So, let the great debate begin. I can hear the howlings from the government-funded anti-smoking groups already. Some of them will no doubt lash out at the fact that this less-harmful product will be marketed by du Maurier and could be perceived as a gateway product to lure people to smoke.
Common sense says any tobacco product that’s less harmful than cigarettes or chewing tobacco should be wholeheartedly welcomed.
But there’s little in the way of common sense when it comes to smoking and the control and sale of tobacco.
The hypocrisy on the part of the industry, and especially governments, is truly incredible.
Imperial, for its part, makes it sound as if its motivation for bringing out this product is almost pure philanthropy.
Said Kemball: “…We believe the responsible thing to do is to seek out and offer products that may substantially reduce the health risks.”
Nice to hear that a company selling a deadly product like cigarettes is so morally upstanding.
Yet I couldn’t help but smile and nod in agreement when Kemball talked about governments being the “senior partners” of tobacco sales and distribution. That they are. Some might argue they’re truly the Great Satan.
Federal and provincial governments skim off $9 billion in annual taxes from tobacco. The devil’s in the details. Governments license the sale of smokes but heavily regulate the habit to a point where some provincial laws make it illegal to actually smoke just about anywhere except your own property.
Up to 80% of the price of smokes is pure taxation. The tobacco companies, in total, get the crumbs the government leaves for them – roughly $700 million to $800 million in annual profits.
You want more government hypocrisy? Read on.
Federal laws are so tough that Imperial was too spooked to hold an actual news conference to introduce snus. That could be considered a form of tobacco advertising and that could result in federal charges.
Want a bigger laugh? At the bottom of its snus news release (say that fast 10 times) Imperial was forced to put in this disclaimer: “This press release and annexes are subject to the Federal Tobacco Act. As such, it should only be used in a publication of 85% adult readership.”
Geez, will journalists get charged for quoting from it?
Given the relative health benefits of snus compared to tobacco, anti-smoking zealots should enthusiastically support the product, as should governments – to the point of allowing advertising for it.
Doing so isn’t exactly like making a pact with the devil.
Gateway to smoking? -AB
Thu, September 13, 2007
By JEREMY LOOME, SUN MEDIA
Concerns about cigarette alternative
A top tobacco researcher says snus is a better alternative for chronic smokers than cigarettes – but stops well short of calling it a smoking cessation aid.
And a leading Alberta health advocate says there’s a risk snus will become a gateway to cigarettes if it isn’t marketed separately from cigarette brands, as has traditionally been the case in Sweden.
Jonathan Foulds, a School of Public Health researcher at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, has studied the Swedish tobacco product – which is about to be introduced in Alberta – extensively over the last decade.
“My general take is that if a tobacco company, which for its main business has been selling millions of cigarettes, decided to try and make a living selling a product that’s 90% less harmful, then I don’t think we should discourage it,” said Foulds.
“But the truth is that there haven’t been any proper, randomized trials that can compare smoking tobacco with a placebo, ideally, or with existing cessation products. So I don’t think anyone can claim this is more effective.
“And we should also be clear that with approved medicines, one of the advantages is that you know exactly what’s in them and how much of the drug the consumer gets. Dosage is critical, and if you’re taking snus to quit smoking the same goes. But the tobacco companies don’t have to tell you everything that’s in it.”
But Foulds, who has received some funding from the cessation industry but not from tobacco, conceded that in the survey of 3,000 Swedish men he used for an early study, “what we found is that many more had used snus to quit smoking cigarettes than all of the medications available put together.”
Foulds likened snus to nicotine gum but said the difference is that it contains higher nicotine levels, with associated risks of increased pancreatic cancer – although he also noted most of the studies linking pancreatic cancer to snus were performed some 30 years ago, when snus contained elevated carcinogen levels.
The capital region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Gerry Predy, said Capital Health does not support the product. “Our major concern is this: if this were just being marketed to say, ‘heavy smokers,’ … I could be convinced this is about harm reduction,” he said. “But once they start marketing it to everyone this way, then it has the chance of being a gateway to tobacco that is not going to mean reduced tobacco-related mortality.”
Foulds agrees. “This product is almost certainly much less harmful than smoking because you don’t absorb toxin into your lungs. But if you’re looking to quit, there are many other approved medicines that you should try. This is more a product for someone who thinks they’ll never quit cigarettes but wants something less harmful.”
That may explain why Imperial is branding it with the Du Maurier logo, he noted. “One would hope that smokers don’t just simply switch to it only when they aren’t allowed to smoke somewhere and continue to use cigarettes the rest of the time, because that would generally lead to increased usage overall.”
Thu, September 13, 2007
By JEREMY LOOME, SUN MEDIA
Concerns about cigarette alternative
A top tobacco researcher says snus is a better alternative for chronic smokers than cigarettes – but stops well short of calling it a smoking cessation aid.
And a leading Alberta health advocate says there’s a risk snus will become a gateway to cigarettes if it isn’t marketed separately from cigarette brands, as has traditionally been the case in Sweden.
Jonathan Foulds, a School of Public Health researcher at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, has studied the Swedish tobacco product – which is about to be introduced in Alberta – extensively over the last decade.
“My general take is that if a tobacco company, which for its main business has been selling millions of cigarettes, decided to try and make a living selling a product that’s 90% less harmful, then I don’t think we should discourage it,” said Foulds.
“But the truth is that there haven’t been any proper, randomized trials that can compare smoking tobacco with a placebo, ideally, or with existing cessation products. So I don’t think anyone can claim this is more effective.
“And we should also be clear that with approved medicines, one of the advantages is that you know exactly what’s in them and how much of the drug the consumer gets. Dosage is critical, and if you’re taking snus to quit smoking the same goes. But the tobacco companies don’t have to tell you everything that’s in it.”
But Foulds, who has received some funding from the cessation industry but not from tobacco, conceded that in the survey of 3,000 Swedish men he used for an early study, “what we found is that many more had used snus to quit smoking cigarettes than all of the medications available put together.”
Foulds likened snus to nicotine gum but said the difference is that it contains higher nicotine levels, with associated risks of increased pancreatic cancer – although he also noted most of the studies linking pancreatic cancer to snus were performed some 30 years ago, when snus contained elevated carcinogen levels.
The capital region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Gerry Predy, said Capital Health does not support the product. “Our major concern is this: if this were just being marketed to say, ‘heavy smokers,’ … I could be convinced this is about harm reduction,” he said. “But once they start marketing it to everyone this way, then it has the chance of being a gateway to tobacco that is not going to mean reduced tobacco-related mortality.”
Foulds agrees. “This product is almost certainly much less harmful than smoking because you don’t absorb toxin into your lungs. But if you’re looking to quit, there are many other approved medicines that you should try. This is more a product for someone who thinks they’ll never quit cigarettes but wants something less harmful.”
That may explain why Imperial is branding it with the Du Maurier logo, he noted. “One would hope that smokers don’t just simply switch to it only when they aren’t allowed to smoke somewhere and continue to use cigarettes the rest of the time, because that would generally lead to increased usage overall.”
Imperial Tobacco Canada lives up to its corporate social responsibility promise
Sept. 12, 2007
??? EDMONTON, /CNW Telbec/ – Imperial Tobacco Canada today announced
that it will fulfill its commitment to test market a reduced harm product, as compared to cigarettes, later this month with the introduction of Swedish-style snus in Edmonton retail outlets.
On May 7, the Company promised to initiate market tests in one or more Canadian regions for a Swedish-style snus product. This was one of the outcomes of Imperial Tobacco Canada’s first Social Report, which also included commitments on youth smoking prevention and the reduction and elimination of illegal tobacco sales.
“Many adult smokers continue to use tobacco and we believe the responsible thing to do is to seek out and offer products that may substantially reduce the health risks,” said Benjamin Kemball, President and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada. “One school of thought in the tobacco control field basically amounts to telling smokers their only choices are to ‘quit or die’ in the hope they will quit. The other school of thought is that, with about 5 million Canadian adults continuing to smoke, options that reduce the health risks for those who choose not to quit should be pursued. We agree with this second school of thought.”
Many independent health studies believe that the use of snus is substantially less risky than cigarette smoking. However, there is no safe tobacco product. The most effective way to avoid the risks is not to use any tobacco products. The best way to reduce the risks of smoking is to quit. The research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of user. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
In late September, a test market will begin in Edmonton for Imperial Tobacco Canada’s Swedish-style snus. This is a smokeless, chewless and spitless oral tobacco that undergoes a special heat-treatment pasteurization which reduces the formation of tobacco-specific nitrosamines. These are chemicals which have been associated with cancer and have historically been found in other forms of oral tobacco.
“Harm reduction is what any responsible company strives to do. It is what we are striving to do. It is what our stakeholders, during our consultations with them, have told us we should do,” said Mr. Kemball. “The facts speak for themselves. Sweden has highest usage of snus, the first EU country to lower its smoking rates to below 20 percent and the lowest rate of lung cancer in the industrialized world.”
Snus has been popular in Sweden since the 1970s, allowing long-term research into its use and harm reduction potential. A long-term study, begun in 1978 by Dr. Olof Nyren and his colleagues at the Clinical Epidemiology Unit at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute and involving 280,000 Swedish male construction workers, found no increased risk of lung or oral cancer among snus users compared to people who had never smoked. Imperial Tobacco Canada is aware that this needs verification in Canada.
The Company is initiating a post market surveillance program to understand how snus use develops in Canada. This has been developed with the intention of sharing the information with Health Canada and other stakeholders.
Imperial Tobacco Canada’s Edmonton test market is designed to assess consumer acceptance of snus. It will also monitor its use to compare it with the Swedish experience that it serves as a gateway from smoking. The company will offer its findings to Health Canada. Decisions on future test markets or expansion will be made later.
While the initial goal is to test the market, obviously, as a commercial enterprise, Imperial Tobacco Canada hopes that in longer term snus will become commercially viable.
Imperial Tobacco Canada hopes to work with Health Canada and others in the tobacco control field to look an appropriate regulatory framework for this new tobacco category.
“This does not – repeat not – mean we want to reopen all the laws governing the marketing and sale of existing tobacco products in Canada,” said Mr. Kemball. “What it does mean is that if harm reduction products are to be pursued and be effective, we need to look at how best to regulate this new category in a way that makes people aware of their choices and accurately reflects the risk-reduction potential and the remaining health risks.”
This press release and annexes are subject to the Federal Tobacco Act. As???? such, it should only be used in a publication of 85% adult readership.
SNUS BACKGROUNDER
—————–
WHAT IS “SNUS” AND WHY SHOULD ANYONE CARE?
——————————————
OVERVIEW
——–
There is no such thing as a safe tobacco product, and the best way to avoid health risks is never to use them or to quit using them. However, around five million adult Canadians smoke and some of them choose not to quit.
Smokeless does not mean harmless, but some independent research states that low-nitrosamine Swedish-style snus presents significantly lower health risks than smoking. The research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
Snus is a form of oral tobacco that undergoes pasteurization. It is usually sold in small pouches (“teabags”). It is placed between the upper lip and gum and does not involve chewing or spitting. It has been popular in Sweden for several decades, permitting long-term research to be done on its health impacts and use.
The Swedish statistics show: – Daily smoking among adults in Sweden (18-84 years) 2005: Men – 13%; Women -17%. Source: FHI Swedish Institute for Public Health 2005
– Daily snus use among Swedish adults (18-84 years) 2005: Men – 22% Women -4%. Source: SCB Statistiska Centralbyran, Swedish Statistics 2005???? Smoking rates for Swedish men is 13% and for women, 20%.
A growing number of health groups and leading anti-tobacco lobbyists now recognize that snus offer a harm-reduction option to adults who choose not to quit.
THE RESEARCH – POTENTIAL FOR HARM REDUCTION
——————————————-
NOTE : Research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
JULY 2007: In the European Union, where snus has been banned everywhere except in Sweden since 1992, calls are growing for sales to be allowed. This is being studied by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR report, 2007).
In its interim report released in July 2007, SCENIHR states that snus is “clearly less hazardous, or substantially less hazardous, than cigarette smoking.” SCENIHR – Health Effects of Smokeless Tobacco Products, Preliminary Report. Page 107.
SCENIHR is now conducting further consultations on whether to lift the snus ban. The interim report states that no tobacco product is safe and that snus is addictive, and therefore “it would appear that smokeless tobacco use should be generally discouraged and as far as possible prevented.” If a wider use of these products is permitted, “their hazards must be minimized and their marketing and use carefully monitored.”
MAY 2007: Two studies published in The Lancet gained considerable attention.
1. Dr. Olof Nyren and his colleagues at the Clinical Epidemiology Unit at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute studied 280,000 Swedish construction workers’ tobacco consumption habits from 1978-92, and then followed up with them in 2004.
The study, funded in part by the Swedish Cancer Society, found no increased risk of lung or oral cancer compared to never-smokers. “Oral use of Swedish moist snuff (snus) and risk for cancer of the mouth, lung, and pancreas in male construction workers: a retrospective study.” Reference: Luo J, Ye W, Zendehdel K, Adami J, Boffetta P, Nyren O, Lancet, 2007, June 16; 369 (9578); 2015-20
It did find evidence that snus users were about twice as likely than never-smokers to contract pancreatic cancer, but less likely than smokers. The report recommended snus be listed as a “tentative” risk factor for pancreatic cancer.
2. Dr. Coral Gartner and colleagues at Australia’s University of Queensland School of Population Health assessed the potential impacts of introducing snus in that country. They compared data on life expectancy between people with varying usage of tobacco and with never-smokers. They found little difference between life expectancy for snus users compared to smokers who quit tobacco entirely. “Assessment of Swedish snus for tobacco harm reduction: an epidemiological modeling study.” Gartner, Hall, Vos, Bertram, Wallace, Lim. The Lancet, May 10 2007.
The Gartner study, which was funded by the National Health and Research Council, stated: “Current Smokers who switch to snus rather than continuing to smoke can realize substantial health gains/ Snus could be a net benefit to health at the population level if it is adopted in sufficient numbers by inveterate smokers. Relaxing current restrictions on the sale of snus (in Australia) is more likely to produce a net benefit than harm, with the size of the benefit dependant on how many inveterate smokers switch to snus.”
FEBRUARY 2007: A New Zealand Health Technology Assessment report found significant harm reduction benefits appeared to be offered by snus. “A systematic review of the health effects of modified smokeless tobacco products.” Marita Broadstock. Funded through New Zealand’s ministry of health, with input from cancer experts.
While it noted some discrepancies in the 18 studies reviewed and call from more research into some health impacts, it stated in its conclusion:
“The evidence from this review suggests that the harm of using snus,???? relative to non tobacco use, is significantly less than found for smoking???? with respect to cancers of the head, neck and gastro-intestinal region,???? and cardiovascular disease events. While studies were underpowered to???? detect small increases in mortality risk compared with no tobacco use,???? results suggested that the product does not lead to significant risks for???? these outcomes.”
More information is available in other public sources.
SOME FACTS ABOUT THE SNUS PRODUCT
———————————
Snus is one of a range of smokeless tobacco products that includes nasal snuff, chewing tobacco and moist and dry snuffs.
History: Consuming smokeless tobacco was popular before the safety match was invented in 1844 and the industrial production of cigarettes and cigars became possible at the end of the 19th century. Smokeless tobacco remained popular in several countries, including Sweden, Norway, India and the USA.
Preparation: Swedish-style snus differs from other smokeless tobacco in the way it undergoes a heating process called pasteurization. This heating process reduces the formation of tobacco specific nitrosamines – chemicals which are potentially carcinogenic and have historically been found in other forms of oral tobacco, such as chewing tobacco from the US and India. However, there is no safe product and the most effective way to avoid the risk is not to use any tobacco products.
Use: Snus is usually placed between the upper lip and gum, either loose or in tiny sachets like miniature tea bags. It’s held in the mouth, without chewing or sucking.
Nicotine content: This is about the same as a smoker would get from a cigarette, though just as cigarettes vary in strength, so do varieties of snus.
No spitting: Unlike many other forms of smokeless tobacco, snus is not chewed, and does not cause excessive saliva to form in the mouth. Therefore, it does not cause users to spit as is the case with many other forms of chewing tobacco.
IMPERIAL TOBACCO CANADA’S SNUS TEST-MARKET
As a company, we aspire to develop and make available, tobacco products with critical mass appeal that will generate fewer toxic substances. Although we acknowledge that reduced risk tobacco products will not eliminate all risk associated with tobacco consumption, we are committed to exploring the market acceptability of potentially less risky tobacco categories, such as snus.
Because there are currently about five million adult smokers in Canada, some of whom choose not to quit, our priorities include seeking out and bringing to the Canadian market products that have been observed to be less harmful.
Smokeless doesn’t mean harmless, and the best way to avoid risks is not to use any tobacco products. While independent health experts believe that the use of snus is substantially less risky than cigarette smoking, there is no safe tobacco product. The most effective way to avoid the risk is not to use any tobacco products. The best way to reduce the risk of smoking is to quit. Research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
Imperial Tobacco Canada will begin test-marketing snus to adult consumers in Edmonton, beginning September 24. Snus will be available to adults only.
Edmonton was chosen as the test market because it was found to be a city with variables that enable robust findings, allowing us to make decisions regarding the rest of Canada. Any further launches will be considered at a later date.
Our objectives initially are to test consumer acceptance of the product in Canada. We are not looking for any great sales or profits in the short run, but rather to learn from the experience.
We hope to engage with external stakeholders and Health Canada to ensure that snus is regulated in Canada under a regulatory framework appropriate to this product category.
The Swedish data we have seen also indicates that snus does not lead to people starting smoking, but we are aware this needs verification here.
That is why we are initiating a post-market surveillance program to understand how snus use develops in Canada. If there is clear evidence to the contrary then we will have to reassess. This program was developed with the intention of sharing the information with Health Canada and other stakeholders.
As for any other company, we would expect to make a profit, and we do not see that as incompatible with harm reduction.
Snus is a tobacco product and is therefore subject to the same laws as other tobacco products. Snus is not a harmless product, so reasonable regulations are essential. Under existing law, the packages will have four alternating warnings. The mean amount of nicotine, lead and nitrosamines is also displayed on snus packaging in accordance with federally mandated test methods prescribed by law.???? Snus is available strictly to adult tobacco consumers.
THE CHALLENGES
————–
Snus is a tobacco product and as such is subject to the same laws as other tobacco product.
We believe that containers of snus should carry a clear health warning and that the health warning should accurately reflect the health risk.
We hope to engage with external stakeholders and Health Canada to ensure that snus is regulated in Canada under a regulatory framework appropriate to this product category.
SUMMARY
——-
A growing body of research indicates that snus offers those who continue to smoke an option with substantially reduced health risks compared with smoking.
It is one of Imperial Tobacco Canada’s priorities to successfully bring to the Canadian market a product that has been observed to be a less harmful alternative to smoking and attempt to make this choice available to those adult smokers who choose not to quit.
We believe the extent to which this goal is achieved will depend upon how governments, health authorities and other groups respond to the issue of giving adult smokers and the general public an informed choice, based on the evidence, as to the risks and benefits of snus.
Sept. 12, 2007
??? EDMONTON, /CNW Telbec/ – Imperial Tobacco Canada today announced
that it will fulfill its commitment to test market a reduced harm product, as compared to cigarettes, later this month with the introduction of Swedish-style snus in Edmonton retail outlets.
On May 7, the Company promised to initiate market tests in one or more Canadian regions for a Swedish-style snus product. This was one of the outcomes of Imperial Tobacco Canada’s first Social Report, which also included commitments on youth smoking prevention and the reduction and elimination of illegal tobacco sales.
“Many adult smokers continue to use tobacco and we believe the responsible thing to do is to seek out and offer products that may substantially reduce the health risks,” said Benjamin Kemball, President and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada. “One school of thought in the tobacco control field basically amounts to telling smokers their only choices are to ‘quit or die’ in the hope they will quit. The other school of thought is that, with about 5 million Canadian adults continuing to smoke, options that reduce the health risks for those who choose not to quit should be pursued. We agree with this second school of thought.”
Many independent health studies believe that the use of snus is substantially less risky than cigarette smoking. However, there is no safe tobacco product. The most effective way to avoid the risks is not to use any tobacco products. The best way to reduce the risks of smoking is to quit. The research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of user. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
In late September, a test market will begin in Edmonton for Imperial Tobacco Canada’s Swedish-style snus. This is a smokeless, chewless and spitless oral tobacco that undergoes a special heat-treatment pasteurization which reduces the formation of tobacco-specific nitrosamines. These are chemicals which have been associated with cancer and have historically been found in other forms of oral tobacco.
“Harm reduction is what any responsible company strives to do. It is what we are striving to do. It is what our stakeholders, during our consultations with them, have told us we should do,” said Mr. Kemball. “The facts speak for themselves. Sweden has highest usage of snus, the first EU country to lower its smoking rates to below 20 percent and the lowest rate of lung cancer in the industrialized world.”
Snus has been popular in Sweden since the 1970s, allowing long-term research into its use and harm reduction potential. A long-term study, begun in 1978 by Dr. Olof Nyren and his colleagues at the Clinical Epidemiology Unit at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute and involving 280,000 Swedish male construction workers, found no increased risk of lung or oral cancer among snus users compared to people who had never smoked. Imperial Tobacco Canada is aware that this needs verification in Canada.
The Company is initiating a post market surveillance program to understand how snus use develops in Canada. This has been developed with the intention of sharing the information with Health Canada and other stakeholders.
Imperial Tobacco Canada’s Edmonton test market is designed to assess consumer acceptance of snus. It will also monitor its use to compare it with the Swedish experience that it serves as a gateway from smoking. The company will offer its findings to Health Canada. Decisions on future test markets or expansion will be made later.
While the initial goal is to test the market, obviously, as a commercial enterprise, Imperial Tobacco Canada hopes that in longer term snus will become commercially viable.
Imperial Tobacco Canada hopes to work with Health Canada and others in the tobacco control field to look an appropriate regulatory framework for this new tobacco category.
“This does not – repeat not – mean we want to reopen all the laws governing the marketing and sale of existing tobacco products in Canada,” said Mr. Kemball. “What it does mean is that if harm reduction products are to be pursued and be effective, we need to look at how best to regulate this new category in a way that makes people aware of their choices and accurately reflects the risk-reduction potential and the remaining health risks.”
This press release and annexes are subject to the Federal Tobacco Act. As???? such, it should only be used in a publication of 85% adult readership.
SNUS BACKGROUNDER
—————–
WHAT IS “SNUS” AND WHY SHOULD ANYONE CARE?
——————————————
OVERVIEW
——–
There is no such thing as a safe tobacco product, and the best way to avoid health risks is never to use them or to quit using them. However, around five million adult Canadians smoke and some of them choose not to quit.
Smokeless does not mean harmless, but some independent research states that low-nitrosamine Swedish-style snus presents significantly lower health risks than smoking. The research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
Snus is a form of oral tobacco that undergoes pasteurization. It is usually sold in small pouches (“teabags”). It is placed between the upper lip and gum and does not involve chewing or spitting. It has been popular in Sweden for several decades, permitting long-term research to be done on its health impacts and use.
The Swedish statistics show: – Daily smoking among adults in Sweden (18-84 years) 2005: Men – 13%; Women -17%. Source: FHI Swedish Institute for Public Health 2005
– Daily snus use among Swedish adults (18-84 years) 2005: Men – 22% Women -4%. Source: SCB Statistiska Centralbyran, Swedish Statistics 2005???? Smoking rates for Swedish men is 13% and for women, 20%.
A growing number of health groups and leading anti-tobacco lobbyists now recognize that snus offer a harm-reduction option to adults who choose not to quit.
THE RESEARCH – POTENTIAL FOR HARM REDUCTION
——————————————-
NOTE : Research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
JULY 2007: In the European Union, where snus has been banned everywhere except in Sweden since 1992, calls are growing for sales to be allowed. This is being studied by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR report, 2007).
In its interim report released in July 2007, SCENIHR states that snus is “clearly less hazardous, or substantially less hazardous, than cigarette smoking.” SCENIHR – Health Effects of Smokeless Tobacco Products, Preliminary Report. Page 107.
SCENIHR is now conducting further consultations on whether to lift the snus ban. The interim report states that no tobacco product is safe and that snus is addictive, and therefore “it would appear that smokeless tobacco use should be generally discouraged and as far as possible prevented.” If a wider use of these products is permitted, “their hazards must be minimized and their marketing and use carefully monitored.”
MAY 2007: Two studies published in The Lancet gained considerable attention.
1. Dr. Olof Nyren and his colleagues at the Clinical Epidemiology Unit at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute studied 280,000 Swedish construction workers’ tobacco consumption habits from 1978-92, and then followed up with them in 2004.
The study, funded in part by the Swedish Cancer Society, found no increased risk of lung or oral cancer compared to never-smokers. “Oral use of Swedish moist snuff (snus) and risk for cancer of the mouth, lung, and pancreas in male construction workers: a retrospective study.” Reference: Luo J, Ye W, Zendehdel K, Adami J, Boffetta P, Nyren O, Lancet, 2007, June 16; 369 (9578); 2015-20
It did find evidence that snus users were about twice as likely than never-smokers to contract pancreatic cancer, but less likely than smokers. The report recommended snus be listed as a “tentative” risk factor for pancreatic cancer.
2. Dr. Coral Gartner and colleagues at Australia’s University of Queensland School of Population Health assessed the potential impacts of introducing snus in that country. They compared data on life expectancy between people with varying usage of tobacco and with never-smokers. They found little difference between life expectancy for snus users compared to smokers who quit tobacco entirely. “Assessment of Swedish snus for tobacco harm reduction: an epidemiological modeling study.” Gartner, Hall, Vos, Bertram, Wallace, Lim. The Lancet, May 10 2007.
The Gartner study, which was funded by the National Health and Research Council, stated: “Current Smokers who switch to snus rather than continuing to smoke can realize substantial health gains/ Snus could be a net benefit to health at the population level if it is adopted in sufficient numbers by inveterate smokers. Relaxing current restrictions on the sale of snus (in Australia) is more likely to produce a net benefit than harm, with the size of the benefit dependant on how many inveterate smokers switch to snus.”
FEBRUARY 2007: A New Zealand Health Technology Assessment report found significant harm reduction benefits appeared to be offered by snus. “A systematic review of the health effects of modified smokeless tobacco products.” Marita Broadstock. Funded through New Zealand’s ministry of health, with input from cancer experts.
While it noted some discrepancies in the 18 studies reviewed and call from more research into some health impacts, it stated in its conclusion:
“The evidence from this review suggests that the harm of using snus,???? relative to non tobacco use, is significantly less than found for smoking???? with respect to cancers of the head, neck and gastro-intestinal region,???? and cardiovascular disease events. While studies were underpowered to???? detect small increases in mortality risk compared with no tobacco use,???? results suggested that the product does not lead to significant risks for???? these outcomes.”
More information is available in other public sources.
SOME FACTS ABOUT THE SNUS PRODUCT
———————————
Snus is one of a range of smokeless tobacco products that includes nasal snuff, chewing tobacco and moist and dry snuffs.
History: Consuming smokeless tobacco was popular before the safety match was invented in 1844 and the industrial production of cigarettes and cigars became possible at the end of the 19th century. Smokeless tobacco remained popular in several countries, including Sweden, Norway, India and the USA.
Preparation: Swedish-style snus differs from other smokeless tobacco in the way it undergoes a heating process called pasteurization. This heating process reduces the formation of tobacco specific nitrosamines – chemicals which are potentially carcinogenic and have historically been found in other forms of oral tobacco, such as chewing tobacco from the US and India. However, there is no safe product and the most effective way to avoid the risk is not to use any tobacco products.
Use: Snus is usually placed between the upper lip and gum, either loose or in tiny sachets like miniature tea bags. It’s held in the mouth, without chewing or sucking.
Nicotine content: This is about the same as a smoker would get from a cigarette, though just as cigarettes vary in strength, so do varieties of snus.
No spitting: Unlike many other forms of smokeless tobacco, snus is not chewed, and does not cause excessive saliva to form in the mouth. Therefore, it does not cause users to spit as is the case with many other forms of chewing tobacco.
IMPERIAL TOBACCO CANADA’S SNUS TEST-MARKET
As a company, we aspire to develop and make available, tobacco products with critical mass appeal that will generate fewer toxic substances. Although we acknowledge that reduced risk tobacco products will not eliminate all risk associated with tobacco consumption, we are committed to exploring the market acceptability of potentially less risky tobacco categories, such as snus.
Because there are currently about five million adult smokers in Canada, some of whom choose not to quit, our priorities include seeking out and bringing to the Canadian market products that have been observed to be less harmful.
Smokeless doesn’t mean harmless, and the best way to avoid risks is not to use any tobacco products. While independent health experts believe that the use of snus is substantially less risky than cigarette smoking, there is no safe tobacco product. The most effective way to avoid the risk is not to use any tobacco products. The best way to reduce the risk of smoking is to quit. Research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
Imperial Tobacco Canada will begin test-marketing snus to adult consumers in Edmonton, beginning September 24. Snus will be available to adults only.
Edmonton was chosen as the test market because it was found to be a city with variables that enable robust findings, allowing us to make decisions regarding the rest of Canada. Any further launches will be considered at a later date.
Our objectives initially are to test consumer acceptance of the product in Canada. We are not looking for any great sales or profits in the short run, but rather to learn from the experience.
We hope to engage with external stakeholders and Health Canada to ensure that snus is regulated in Canada under a regulatory framework appropriate to this product category.
The Swedish data we have seen also indicates that snus does not lead to people starting smoking, but we are aware this needs verification here.
That is why we are initiating a post-market surveillance program to understand how snus use develops in Canada. If there is clear evidence to the contrary then we will have to reassess. This program was developed with the intention of sharing the information with Health Canada and other stakeholders.
As for any other company, we would expect to make a profit, and we do not see that as incompatible with harm reduction.
Snus is a tobacco product and is therefore subject to the same laws as other tobacco products. Snus is not a harmless product, so reasonable regulations are essential. Under existing law, the packages will have four alternating warnings. The mean amount of nicotine, lead and nitrosamines is also displayed on snus packaging in accordance with federally mandated test methods prescribed by law.???? Snus is available strictly to adult tobacco consumers.
THE CHALLENGES
————–
Snus is a tobacco product and as such is subject to the same laws as other tobacco product.
We believe that containers of snus should carry a clear health warning and that the health warning should accurately reflect the health risk.
We hope to engage with external stakeholders and Health Canada to ensure that snus is regulated in Canada under a regulatory framework appropriate to this product category.
SUMMARY
——-
A growing body of research indicates that snus offers those who continue to smoke an option with substantially reduced health risks compared with smoking.
It is one of Imperial Tobacco Canada’s priorities to successfully bring to the Canadian market a product that has been observed to be a less harmful alternative to smoking and attempt to make this choice available to those adult smokers who choose not to quit.
We believe the extent to which this goal is achieved will depend upon how governments, health authorities and other groups respond to the issue of giving adult smokers and the general public an informed choice, based on the evidence, as to the risks and benefits of snus.
?
Tobacco hypocrisy
Thu, September 13, 2007
By KERRY DIOTTE
To hardcore anti-smoking activists, a meeting with Benjamin J. Kemball would be akin to a date with Lucifer.
But Kemball doesn’t have a tail or cloven feet. In fact, when I met him yesterday, he came across as a very professional, well-spoken guy who just happens to be president and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada.
He appeared at a Sun editorial board meeting to reveal that Imperial has chosen Edmonton to test-market a new tobacco product, popular in Sweden, that’s known by the awkward name, snus (kind of rhymes with moose).
It’s a pasteurized tobacco contained in tiny tea bag-material packets that users stick between their upper lip and gum. It’s billed as a non-chew, no-spit oral tobacco.
The claim from Imperial is that snus – the Swedish word for snuff – is a “reduced-harm” tobacco product containing nicotine that’s substantially less harmful than smokes or chewing tobacco. Kemball quotes a Swedish study as concluding that those who used the product had no increased risk of lung or oral cancer compared to people who had never smoked.
Snus will be available in Edmonton by month-end under the du Maurier brand. A tin will contain 20 small portions of the product that will cost about $7.
So, let the great debate begin. I can hear the howlings from the government-funded anti-smoking groups already. Some of them will no doubt lash out at the fact that this less-harmful product will be marketed by du Maurier and could be perceived as a gateway product to lure people to smoke.
Common sense says any tobacco product that’s less harmful than cigarettes or chewing tobacco should be wholeheartedly welcomed.
But there’s little in the way of common sense when it comes to smoking and the control and sale of tobacco.
The hypocrisy on the part of the industry, and especially governments, is truly incredible.
Imperial, for its part, makes it sound as if its motivation for bringing out this product is almost pure philanthropy.
Said Kemball: “…We believe the responsible thing to do is to seek out and offer products that may substantially reduce the health risks.”
Nice to hear that a company selling a deadly product like cigarettes is so morally upstanding.
Yet I couldn’t help but smile and nod in agreement when Kemball talked about governments being the “senior partners” of tobacco sales and distribution. That they are. Some might argue they’re truly the Great Satan.
Federal and provincial governments skim off $9 billion in annual taxes from tobacco. The devil’s in the details. Governments license the sale of smokes but heavily regulate the habit to a point where some provincial laws make it illegal to actually smoke just about anywhere except your own property.
Up to 80% of the price of smokes is pure taxation. The tobacco companies, in total, get the crumbs the government leaves for them – roughly $700 million to $800 million in annual profits.
You want more government hypocrisy? Read on.
Federal laws are so tough that Imperial was too spooked to hold an actual news conference to introduce snus. That could be considered a form of tobacco advertising and that could result in federal charges.
Want a bigger laugh? At the bottom of its snus news release (say that fast 10 times) Imperial was forced to put in this disclaimer: “This press release and annexes are subject to the Federal Tobacco Act. As such, it should only be used in a publication of 85% adult readership.”
Geez, will journalists get charged for quoting from it?
Given the relative health benefits of snus compared to tobacco, anti-smoking zealots should enthusiastically support the product, as should governments – to the point of allowing advertising for it.
Doing so isn’t exactly like making a pact with the devil.
Gateway to smoking? -AB
Thu, September 13, 2007
By JEREMY LOOME, SUN MEDIA
Concerns about cigarette alternative
A top tobacco researcher says snus is a better alternative for chronic smokers than cigarettes – but stops well short of calling it a smoking cessation aid.
And a leading Alberta health advocate says there’s a risk snus will become a gateway to cigarettes if it isn’t marketed separately from cigarette brands, as has traditionally been the case in Sweden.
Jonathan Foulds, a School of Public Health researcher at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, has studied the Swedish tobacco product – which is about to be introduced in Alberta – extensively over the last decade.
“My general take is that if a tobacco company, which for its main business has been selling millions of cigarettes, decided to try and make a living selling a product that’s 90% less harmful, then I don’t think we should discourage it,” said Foulds.
“But the truth is that there haven’t been any proper, randomized trials that can compare smoking tobacco with a placebo, ideally, or with existing cessation products. So I don’t think anyone can claim this is more effective.
“And we should also be clear that with approved medicines, one of the advantages is that you know exactly what’s in them and how much of the drug the consumer gets. Dosage is critical, and if you’re taking snus to quit smoking the same goes. But the tobacco companies don’t have to tell you everything that’s in it.”
But Foulds, who has received some funding from the cessation industry but not from tobacco, conceded that in the survey of 3,000 Swedish men he used for an early study, “what we found is that many more had used snus to quit smoking cigarettes than all of the medications available put together.”
Foulds likened snus to nicotine gum but said the difference is that it contains higher nicotine levels, with associated risks of increased pancreatic cancer – although he also noted most of the studies linking pancreatic cancer to snus were performed some 30 years ago, when snus contained elevated carcinogen levels.
The capital region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Gerry Predy, said Capital Health does not support the product. “Our major concern is this: if this were just being marketed to say, ‘heavy smokers,’ … I could be convinced this is about harm reduction,” he said. “But once they start marketing it to everyone this way, then it has the chance of being a gateway to tobacco that is not going to mean reduced tobacco-related mortality.”
Foulds agrees. “This product is almost certainly much less harmful than smoking because you don’t absorb toxin into your lungs. But if you’re looking to quit, there are many other approved medicines that you should try. This is more a product for someone who thinks they’ll never quit cigarettes but wants something less harmful.”
That may explain why Imperial is branding it with the Du Maurier logo, he noted. “One would hope that smokers don’t just simply switch to it only when they aren’t allowed to smoke somewhere and continue to use cigarettes the rest of the time, because that would generally lead to increased usage overall.”
Thu, September 13, 2007
By JEREMY LOOME, SUN MEDIA
Concerns about cigarette alternative
A top tobacco researcher says snus is a better alternative for chronic smokers than cigarettes – but stops well short of calling it a smoking cessation aid.
And a leading Alberta health advocate says there’s a risk snus will become a gateway to cigarettes if it isn’t marketed separately from cigarette brands, as has traditionally been the case in Sweden.
Jonathan Foulds, a School of Public Health researcher at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, has studied the Swedish tobacco product – which is about to be introduced in Alberta – extensively over the last decade.
“My general take is that if a tobacco company, which for its main business has been selling millions of cigarettes, decided to try and make a living selling a product that’s 90% less harmful, then I don’t think we should discourage it,” said Foulds.
“But the truth is that there haven’t been any proper, randomized trials that can compare smoking tobacco with a placebo, ideally, or with existing cessation products. So I don’t think anyone can claim this is more effective.
“And we should also be clear that with approved medicines, one of the advantages is that you know exactly what’s in them and how much of the drug the consumer gets. Dosage is critical, and if you’re taking snus to quit smoking the same goes. But the tobacco companies don’t have to tell you everything that’s in it.”
But Foulds, who has received some funding from the cessation industry but not from tobacco, conceded that in the survey of 3,000 Swedish men he used for an early study, “what we found is that many more had used snus to quit smoking cigarettes than all of the medications available put together.”
Foulds likened snus to nicotine gum but said the difference is that it contains higher nicotine levels, with associated risks of increased pancreatic cancer – although he also noted most of the studies linking pancreatic cancer to snus were performed some 30 years ago, when snus contained elevated carcinogen levels.
The capital region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Gerry Predy, said Capital Health does not support the product. “Our major concern is this: if this were just being marketed to say, ‘heavy smokers,’ … I could be convinced this is about harm reduction,” he said. “But once they start marketing it to everyone this way, then it has the chance of being a gateway to tobacco that is not going to mean reduced tobacco-related mortality.”
Foulds agrees. “This product is almost certainly much less harmful than smoking because you don’t absorb toxin into your lungs. But if you’re looking to quit, there are many other approved medicines that you should try. This is more a product for someone who thinks they’ll never quit cigarettes but wants something less harmful.”
That may explain why Imperial is branding it with the Du Maurier logo, he noted. “One would hope that smokers don’t just simply switch to it only when they aren’t allowed to smoke somewhere and continue to use cigarettes the rest of the time, because that would generally lead to increased usage overall.”
Imperial Tobacco Canada lives up to its corporate social responsibility promise
Sept. 12, 2007
??? EDMONTON, /CNW Telbec/ – Imperial Tobacco Canada today announced
that it will fulfill its commitment to test market a reduced harm product, as compared to cigarettes, later this month with the introduction of Swedish-style snus in Edmonton retail outlets.
On May 7, the Company promised to initiate market tests in one or more Canadian regions for a Swedish-style snus product. This was one of the outcomes of Imperial Tobacco Canada’s first Social Report, which also included commitments on youth smoking prevention and the reduction and elimination of illegal tobacco sales.
“Many adult smokers continue to use tobacco and we believe the responsible thing to do is to seek out and offer products that may substantially reduce the health risks,” said Benjamin Kemball, President and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada. “One school of thought in the tobacco control field basically amounts to telling smokers their only choices are to ‘quit or die’ in the hope they will quit. The other school of thought is that, with about 5 million Canadian adults continuing to smoke, options that reduce the health risks for those who choose not to quit should be pursued. We agree with this second school of thought.”
Many independent health studies believe that the use of snus is substantially less risky than cigarette smoking. However, there is no safe tobacco product. The most effective way to avoid the risks is not to use any tobacco products. The best way to reduce the risks of smoking is to quit. The research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of user. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
In late September, a test market will begin in Edmonton for Imperial Tobacco Canada’s Swedish-style snus. This is a smokeless, chewless and spitless oral tobacco that undergoes a special heat-treatment pasteurization which reduces the formation of tobacco-specific nitrosamines. These are chemicals which have been associated with cancer and have historically been found in other forms of oral tobacco.
“Harm reduction is what any responsible company strives to do. It is what we are striving to do. It is what our stakeholders, during our consultations with them, have told us we should do,” said Mr. Kemball. “The facts speak for themselves. Sweden has highest usage of snus, the first EU country to lower its smoking rates to below 20 percent and the lowest rate of lung cancer in the industrialized world.”
Snus has been popular in Sweden since the 1970s, allowing long-term research into its use and harm reduction potential. A long-term study, begun in 1978 by Dr. Olof Nyren and his colleagues at the Clinical Epidemiology Unit at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute and involving 280,000 Swedish male construction workers, found no increased risk of lung or oral cancer among snus users compared to people who had never smoked. Imperial Tobacco Canada is aware that this needs verification in Canada.
The Company is initiating a post market surveillance program to understand how snus use develops in Canada. This has been developed with the intention of sharing the information with Health Canada and other stakeholders.
Imperial Tobacco Canada’s Edmonton test market is designed to assess consumer acceptance of snus. It will also monitor its use to compare it with the Swedish experience that it serves as a gateway from smoking. The company will offer its findings to Health Canada. Decisions on future test markets or expansion will be made later.
While the initial goal is to test the market, obviously, as a commercial enterprise, Imperial Tobacco Canada hopes that in longer term snus will become commercially viable.
Imperial Tobacco Canada hopes to work with Health Canada and others in the tobacco control field to look an appropriate regulatory framework for this new tobacco category.
“This does not – repeat not – mean we want to reopen all the laws governing the marketing and sale of existing tobacco products in Canada,” said Mr. Kemball. “What it does mean is that if harm reduction products are to be pursued and be effective, we need to look at how best to regulate this new category in a way that makes people aware of their choices and accurately reflects the risk-reduction potential and the remaining health risks.”
This press release and annexes are subject to the Federal Tobacco Act. As???? such, it should only be used in a publication of 85% adult readership.
SNUS BACKGROUNDER
—————–
WHAT IS “SNUS” AND WHY SHOULD ANYONE CARE?
——————————————
OVERVIEW
——–
There is no such thing as a safe tobacco product, and the best way to avoid health risks is never to use them or to quit using them. However, around five million adult Canadians smoke and some of them choose not to quit.
Smokeless does not mean harmless, but some independent research states that low-nitrosamine Swedish-style snus presents significantly lower health risks than smoking. The research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
Snus is a form of oral tobacco that undergoes pasteurization. It is usually sold in small pouches (“teabags”). It is placed between the upper lip and gum and does not involve chewing or spitting. It has been popular in Sweden for several decades, permitting long-term research to be done on its health impacts and use.
The Swedish statistics show: – Daily smoking among adults in Sweden (18-84 years) 2005: Men – 13%; Women -17%. Source: FHI Swedish Institute for Public Health 2005
– Daily snus use among Swedish adults (18-84 years) 2005: Men – 22% Women -4%. Source: SCB Statistiska Centralbyran, Swedish Statistics 2005???? Smoking rates for Swedish men is 13% and for women, 20%.
A growing number of health groups and leading anti-tobacco lobbyists now recognize that snus offer a harm-reduction option to adults who choose not to quit.
THE RESEARCH – POTENTIAL FOR HARM REDUCTION
——————————————-
NOTE : Research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
JULY 2007: In the European Union, where snus has been banned everywhere except in Sweden since 1992, calls are growing for sales to be allowed. This is being studied by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR report, 2007).
In its interim report released in July 2007, SCENIHR states that snus is “clearly less hazardous, or substantially less hazardous, than cigarette smoking.” SCENIHR – Health Effects of Smokeless Tobacco Products, Preliminary Report. Page 107.
SCENIHR is now conducting further consultations on whether to lift the snus ban. The interim report states that no tobacco product is safe and that snus is addictive, and therefore “it would appear that smokeless tobacco use should be generally discouraged and as far as possible prevented.” If a wider use of these products is permitted, “their hazards must be minimized and their marketing and use carefully monitored.”
MAY 2007: Two studies published in The Lancet gained considerable attention.
1. Dr. Olof Nyren and his colleagues at the Clinical Epidemiology Unit at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute studied 280,000 Swedish construction workers’ tobacco consumption habits from 1978-92, and then followed up with them in 2004.
The study, funded in part by the Swedish Cancer Society, found no increased risk of lung or oral cancer compared to never-smokers. “Oral use of Swedish moist snuff (snus) and risk for cancer of the mouth, lung, and pancreas in male construction workers: a retrospective study.” Reference: Luo J, Ye W, Zendehdel K, Adami J, Boffetta P, Nyren O, Lancet, 2007, June 16; 369 (9578); 2015-20
It did find evidence that snus users were about twice as likely than never-smokers to contract pancreatic cancer, but less likely than smokers. The report recommended snus be listed as a “tentative” risk factor for pancreatic cancer.
2. Dr. Coral Gartner and colleagues at Australia’s University of Queensland School of Population Health assessed the potential impacts of introducing snus in that country. They compared data on life expectancy between people with varying usage of tobacco and with never-smokers. They found little difference between life expectancy for snus users compared to smokers who quit tobacco entirely. “Assessment of Swedish snus for tobacco harm reduction: an epidemiological modeling study.” Gartner, Hall, Vos, Bertram, Wallace, Lim. The Lancet, May 10 2007.
The Gartner study, which was funded by the National Health and Research Council, stated: “Current Smokers who switch to snus rather than continuing to smoke can realize substantial health gains/ Snus could be a net benefit to health at the population level if it is adopted in sufficient numbers by inveterate smokers. Relaxing current restrictions on the sale of snus (in Australia) is more likely to produce a net benefit than harm, with the size of the benefit dependant on how many inveterate smokers switch to snus.”
FEBRUARY 2007: A New Zealand Health Technology Assessment report found significant harm reduction benefits appeared to be offered by snus. “A systematic review of the health effects of modified smokeless tobacco products.” Marita Broadstock. Funded through New Zealand’s ministry of health, with input from cancer experts.
While it noted some discrepancies in the 18 studies reviewed and call from more research into some health impacts, it stated in its conclusion:
“The evidence from this review suggests that the harm of using snus,???? relative to non tobacco use, is significantly less than found for smoking???? with respect to cancers of the head, neck and gastro-intestinal region,???? and cardiovascular disease events. While studies were underpowered to???? detect small increases in mortality risk compared with no tobacco use,???? results suggested that the product does not lead to significant risks for???? these outcomes.”
More information is available in other public sources.
SOME FACTS ABOUT THE SNUS PRODUCT
———————————
Snus is one of a range of smokeless tobacco products that includes nasal snuff, chewing tobacco and moist and dry snuffs.
History: Consuming smokeless tobacco was popular before the safety match was invented in 1844 and the industrial production of cigarettes and cigars became possible at the end of the 19th century. Smokeless tobacco remained popular in several countries, including Sweden, Norway, India and the USA.
Preparation: Swedish-style snus differs from other smokeless tobacco in the way it undergoes a heating process called pasteurization. This heating process reduces the formation of tobacco specific nitrosamines – chemicals which are potentially carcinogenic and have historically been found in other forms of oral tobacco, such as chewing tobacco from the US and India. However, there is no safe product and the most effective way to avoid the risk is not to use any tobacco products.
Use: Snus is usually placed between the upper lip and gum, either loose or in tiny sachets like miniature tea bags. It’s held in the mouth, without chewing or sucking.
Nicotine content: This is about the same as a smoker would get from a cigarette, though just as cigarettes vary in strength, so do varieties of snus.
No spitting: Unlike many other forms of smokeless tobacco, snus is not chewed, and does not cause excessive saliva to form in the mouth. Therefore, it does not cause users to spit as is the case with many other forms of chewing tobacco.
IMPERIAL TOBACCO CANADA’S SNUS TEST-MARKET
As a company, we aspire to develop and make available, tobacco products with critical mass appeal that will generate fewer toxic substances. Although we acknowledge that reduced risk tobacco products will not eliminate all risk associated with tobacco consumption, we are committed to exploring the market acceptability of potentially less risky tobacco categories, such as snus.
Because there are currently about five million adult smokers in Canada, some of whom choose not to quit, our priorities include seeking out and bringing to the Canadian market products that have been observed to be less harmful.
Smokeless doesn’t mean harmless, and the best way to avoid risks is not to use any tobacco products. While independent health experts believe that the use of snus is substantially less risky than cigarette smoking, there is no safe tobacco product. The most effective way to avoid the risk is not to use any tobacco products. The best way to reduce the risk of smoking is to quit. Research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
Imperial Tobacco Canada will begin test-marketing snus to adult consumers in Edmonton, beginning September 24. Snus will be available to adults only.
Edmonton was chosen as the test market because it was found to be a city with variables that enable robust findings, allowing us to make decisions regarding the rest of Canada. Any further launches will be considered at a later date.
Our objectives initially are to test consumer acceptance of the product in Canada. We are not looking for any great sales or profits in the short run, but rather to learn from the experience.
We hope to engage with external stakeholders and Health Canada to ensure that snus is regulated in Canada under a regulatory framework appropriate to this product category.
The Swedish data we have seen also indicates that snus does not lead to people starting smoking, but we are aware this needs verification here.
That is why we are initiating a post-market surveillance program to understand how snus use develops in Canada. If there is clear evidence to the contrary then we will have to reassess. This program was developed with the intention of sharing the information with Health Canada and other stakeholders.
As for any other company, we would expect to make a profit, and we do not see that as incompatible with harm reduction.
Snus is a tobacco product and is therefore subject to the same laws as other tobacco products. Snus is not a harmless product, so reasonable regulations are essential. Under existing law, the packages will have four alternating warnings. The mean amount of nicotine, lead and nitrosamines is also displayed on snus packaging in accordance with federally mandated test methods prescribed by law.???? Snus is available strictly to adult tobacco consumers.
THE CHALLENGES
————–
Snus is a tobacco product and as such is subject to the same laws as other tobacco product.
We believe that containers of snus should carry a clear health warning and that the health warning should accurately reflect the health risk.
We hope to engage with external stakeholders and Health Canada to ensure that snus is regulated in Canada under a regulatory framework appropriate to this product category.
SUMMARY
——-
A growing body of research indicates that snus offers those who continue to smoke an option with substantially reduced health risks compared with smoking.
It is one of Imperial Tobacco Canada’s priorities to successfully bring to the Canadian market a product that has been observed to be a less harmful alternative to smoking and attempt to make this choice available to those adult smokers who choose not to quit.
We believe the extent to which this goal is achieved will depend upon how governments, health authorities and other groups respond to the issue of giving adult smokers and the general public an informed choice, based on the evidence, as to the risks and benefits of snus.
Sept. 12, 2007
??? EDMONTON, /CNW Telbec/ – Imperial Tobacco Canada today announced
that it will fulfill its commitment to test market a reduced harm product, as compared to cigarettes, later this month with the introduction of Swedish-style snus in Edmonton retail outlets.
On May 7, the Company promised to initiate market tests in one or more Canadian regions for a Swedish-style snus product. This was one of the outcomes of Imperial Tobacco Canada’s first Social Report, which also included commitments on youth smoking prevention and the reduction and elimination of illegal tobacco sales.
“Many adult smokers continue to use tobacco and we believe the responsible thing to do is to seek out and offer products that may substantially reduce the health risks,” said Benjamin Kemball, President and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada. “One school of thought in the tobacco control field basically amounts to telling smokers their only choices are to ‘quit or die’ in the hope they will quit. The other school of thought is that, with about 5 million Canadian adults continuing to smoke, options that reduce the health risks for those who choose not to quit should be pursued. We agree with this second school of thought.”
Many independent health studies believe that the use of snus is substantially less risky than cigarette smoking. However, there is no safe tobacco product. The most effective way to avoid the risks is not to use any tobacco products. The best way to reduce the risks of smoking is to quit. The research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of user. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
In late September, a test market will begin in Edmonton for Imperial Tobacco Canada’s Swedish-style snus. This is a smokeless, chewless and spitless oral tobacco that undergoes a special heat-treatment pasteurization which reduces the formation of tobacco-specific nitrosamines. These are chemicals which have been associated with cancer and have historically been found in other forms of oral tobacco.
“Harm reduction is what any responsible company strives to do. It is what we are striving to do. It is what our stakeholders, during our consultations with them, have told us we should do,” said Mr. Kemball. “The facts speak for themselves. Sweden has highest usage of snus, the first EU country to lower its smoking rates to below 20 percent and the lowest rate of lung cancer in the industrialized world.”
Snus has been popular in Sweden since the 1970s, allowing long-term research into its use and harm reduction potential. A long-term study, begun in 1978 by Dr. Olof Nyren and his colleagues at the Clinical Epidemiology Unit at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute and involving 280,000 Swedish male construction workers, found no increased risk of lung or oral cancer among snus users compared to people who had never smoked. Imperial Tobacco Canada is aware that this needs verification in Canada.
The Company is initiating a post market surveillance program to understand how snus use develops in Canada. This has been developed with the intention of sharing the information with Health Canada and other stakeholders.
Imperial Tobacco Canada’s Edmonton test market is designed to assess consumer acceptance of snus. It will also monitor its use to compare it with the Swedish experience that it serves as a gateway from smoking. The company will offer its findings to Health Canada. Decisions on future test markets or expansion will be made later.
While the initial goal is to test the market, obviously, as a commercial enterprise, Imperial Tobacco Canada hopes that in longer term snus will become commercially viable.
Imperial Tobacco Canada hopes to work with Health Canada and others in the tobacco control field to look an appropriate regulatory framework for this new tobacco category.
“This does not – repeat not – mean we want to reopen all the laws governing the marketing and sale of existing tobacco products in Canada,” said Mr. Kemball. “What it does mean is that if harm reduction products are to be pursued and be effective, we need to look at how best to regulate this new category in a way that makes people aware of their choices and accurately reflects the risk-reduction potential and the remaining health risks.”
This press release and annexes are subject to the Federal Tobacco Act. As???? such, it should only be used in a publication of 85% adult readership.
SNUS BACKGROUNDER
—————–
WHAT IS “SNUS” AND WHY SHOULD ANYONE CARE?
——————————————
OVERVIEW
——–
There is no such thing as a safe tobacco product, and the best way to avoid health risks is never to use them or to quit using them. However, around five million adult Canadians smoke and some of them choose not to quit.
Smokeless does not mean harmless, but some independent research states that low-nitrosamine Swedish-style snus presents significantly lower health risks than smoking. The research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
Snus is a form of oral tobacco that undergoes pasteurization. It is usually sold in small pouches (“teabags”). It is placed between the upper lip and gum and does not involve chewing or spitting. It has been popular in Sweden for several decades, permitting long-term research to be done on its health impacts and use.
The Swedish statistics show: – Daily smoking among adults in Sweden (18-84 years) 2005: Men – 13%; Women -17%. Source: FHI Swedish Institute for Public Health 2005
– Daily snus use among Swedish adults (18-84 years) 2005: Men – 22% Women -4%. Source: SCB Statistiska Centralbyran, Swedish Statistics 2005???? Smoking rates for Swedish men is 13% and for women, 20%.
A growing number of health groups and leading anti-tobacco lobbyists now recognize that snus offer a harm-reduction option to adults who choose not to quit.
THE RESEARCH – POTENTIAL FOR HARM REDUCTION
——————————————-
NOTE : Research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
JULY 2007: In the European Union, where snus has been banned everywhere except in Sweden since 1992, calls are growing for sales to be allowed. This is being studied by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR report, 2007).
In its interim report released in July 2007, SCENIHR states that snus is “clearly less hazardous, or substantially less hazardous, than cigarette smoking.” SCENIHR – Health Effects of Smokeless Tobacco Products, Preliminary Report. Page 107.
SCENIHR is now conducting further consultations on whether to lift the snus ban. The interim report states that no tobacco product is safe and that snus is addictive, and therefore “it would appear that smokeless tobacco use should be generally discouraged and as far as possible prevented.” If a wider use of these products is permitted, “their hazards must be minimized and their marketing and use carefully monitored.”
MAY 2007: Two studies published in The Lancet gained considerable attention.
1. Dr. Olof Nyren and his colleagues at the Clinical Epidemiology Unit at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute studied 280,000 Swedish construction workers’ tobacco consumption habits from 1978-92, and then followed up with them in 2004.
The study, funded in part by the Swedish Cancer Society, found no increased risk of lung or oral cancer compared to never-smokers. “Oral use of Swedish moist snuff (snus) and risk for cancer of the mouth, lung, and pancreas in male construction workers: a retrospective study.” Reference: Luo J, Ye W, Zendehdel K, Adami J, Boffetta P, Nyren O, Lancet, 2007, June 16; 369 (9578); 2015-20
It did find evidence that snus users were about twice as likely than never-smokers to contract pancreatic cancer, but less likely than smokers. The report recommended snus be listed as a “tentative” risk factor for pancreatic cancer.
2. Dr. Coral Gartner and colleagues at Australia’s University of Queensland School of Population Health assessed the potential impacts of introducing snus in that country. They compared data on life expectancy between people with varying usage of tobacco and with never-smokers. They found little difference between life expectancy for snus users compared to smokers who quit tobacco entirely. “Assessment of Swedish snus for tobacco harm reduction: an epidemiological modeling study.” Gartner, Hall, Vos, Bertram, Wallace, Lim. The Lancet, May 10 2007.
The Gartner study, which was funded by the National Health and Research Council, stated: “Current Smokers who switch to snus rather than continuing to smoke can realize substantial health gains/ Snus could be a net benefit to health at the population level if it is adopted in sufficient numbers by inveterate smokers. Relaxing current restrictions on the sale of snus (in Australia) is more likely to produce a net benefit than harm, with the size of the benefit dependant on how many inveterate smokers switch to snus.”
FEBRUARY 2007: A New Zealand Health Technology Assessment report found significant harm reduction benefits appeared to be offered by snus. “A systematic review of the health effects of modified smokeless tobacco products.” Marita Broadstock. Funded through New Zealand’s ministry of health, with input from cancer experts.
While it noted some discrepancies in the 18 studies reviewed and call from more research into some health impacts, it stated in its conclusion:
“The evidence from this review suggests that the harm of using snus,???? relative to non tobacco use, is significantly less than found for smoking???? with respect to cancers of the head, neck and gastro-intestinal region,???? and cardiovascular disease events. While studies were underpowered to???? detect small increases in mortality risk compared with no tobacco use,???? results suggested that the product does not lead to significant risks for???? these outcomes.”
More information is available in other public sources.
SOME FACTS ABOUT THE SNUS PRODUCT
———————————
Snus is one of a range of smokeless tobacco products that includes nasal snuff, chewing tobacco and moist and dry snuffs.
History: Consuming smokeless tobacco was popular before the safety match was invented in 1844 and the industrial production of cigarettes and cigars became possible at the end of the 19th century. Smokeless tobacco remained popular in several countries, including Sweden, Norway, India and the USA.
Preparation: Swedish-style snus differs from other smokeless tobacco in the way it undergoes a heating process called pasteurization. This heating process reduces the formation of tobacco specific nitrosamines – chemicals which are potentially carcinogenic and have historically been found in other forms of oral tobacco, such as chewing tobacco from the US and India. However, there is no safe product and the most effective way to avoid the risk is not to use any tobacco products.
Use: Snus is usually placed between the upper lip and gum, either loose or in tiny sachets like miniature tea bags. It’s held in the mouth, without chewing or sucking.
Nicotine content: This is about the same as a smoker would get from a cigarette, though just as cigarettes vary in strength, so do varieties of snus.
No spitting: Unlike many other forms of smokeless tobacco, snus is not chewed, and does not cause excessive saliva to form in the mouth. Therefore, it does not cause users to spit as is the case with many other forms of chewing tobacco.
IMPERIAL TOBACCO CANADA’S SNUS TEST-MARKET
As a company, we aspire to develop and make available, tobacco products with critical mass appeal that will generate fewer toxic substances. Although we acknowledge that reduced risk tobacco products will not eliminate all risk associated with tobacco consumption, we are committed to exploring the market acceptability of potentially less risky tobacco categories, such as snus.
Because there are currently about five million adult smokers in Canada, some of whom choose not to quit, our priorities include seeking out and bringing to the Canadian market products that have been observed to be less harmful.
Smokeless doesn’t mean harmless, and the best way to avoid risks is not to use any tobacco products. While independent health experts believe that the use of snus is substantially less risky than cigarette smoking, there is no safe tobacco product. The most effective way to avoid the risk is not to use any tobacco products. The best way to reduce the risk of smoking is to quit. Research does not necessarily mean that risk is lower for every type of disease and every category of users. Results from research conducted in Sweden have not yet been verified among Canadians.
Imperial Tobacco Canada will begin test-marketing snus to adult consumers in Edmonton, beginning September 24. Snus will be available to adults only.
Edmonton was chosen as the test market because it was found to be a city with variables that enable robust findings, allowing us to make decisions regarding the rest of Canada. Any further launches will be considered at a later date.
Our objectives initially are to test consumer acceptance of the product in Canada. We are not looking for any great sales or profits in the short run, but rather to learn from the experience.
We hope to engage with external stakeholders and Health Canada to ensure that snus is regulated in Canada under a regulatory framework appropriate to this product category.
The Swedish data we have seen also indicates that snus does not lead to people starting smoking, but we are aware this needs verification here.
That is why we are initiating a post-market surveillance program to understand how snus use develops in Canada. If there is clear evidence to the contrary then we will have to reassess. This program was developed with the intention of sharing the information with Health Canada and other stakeholders.
As for any other company, we would expect to make a profit, and we do not see that as incompatible with harm reduction.
Snus is a tobacco product and is therefore subject to the same laws as other tobacco products. Snus is not a harmless product, so reasonable regulations are essential. Under existing law, the packages will have four alternating warnings. The mean amount of nicotine, lead and nitrosamines is also displayed on snus packaging in accordance with federally mandated test methods prescribed by law.???? Snus is available strictly to adult tobacco consumers.
THE CHALLENGES
————–
Snus is a tobacco product and as such is subject to the same laws as other tobacco product.
We believe that containers of snus should carry a clear health warning and that the health warning should accurately reflect the health risk.
We hope to engage with external stakeholders and Health Canada to ensure that snus is regulated in Canada under a regulatory framework appropriate to this product category.
SUMMARY
——-
A growing body of research indicates that snus offers those who continue to smoke an option with substantially reduced health risks compared with smoking.
It is one of Imperial Tobacco Canada’s priorities to successfully bring to the Canadian market a product that has been observed to be a less harmful alternative to smoking and attempt to make this choice available to those adult smokers who choose not to quit.
We believe the extent to which this goal is achieved will depend upon how governments, health authorities and other groups respond to the issue of giving adult smokers and the general public an informed choice, based on the evidence, as to the risks and benefits of snus.
?
