Smokeless Tobacco: Nicogel, Nicotine Hand Gel Update

Anti-smoking groups attack tobacco gel that beats the ban

June 7, 2007
RHODRI PHILLIPS and STEVE MYALL

A tobacco-based gel designed to beat the smoking ban is sparking controversy among health campaigners.

NicoFix, which can be bought online and in a handful of shops in Britain, is billed as an alternative to smoking rather than a way of giving up.
Ten steps to stop smoking
Smokers can get their fix by rubbing a portion of the gel, which contains one tenth of the tobacco in a cigarette, into their palms.
Stocks of NicoFix have been rushed into shops, including Harrods and Selfridges, in time for the ban on smoking coming into force in England on July 1.

The new law prohibits lighting up in all enclosed public spaces and workplaces, including pubs, restaurants, offices and even bus shelters, taxis, company cars and delivery vehicles.

The NicoFix label reads: “Whenever you cannot by law or by convenience smoke your favourite cigarette you can apply NicoFix and within a minute your craving for nicotine will be satisfied for anywhere from one to four hours.”

The gel is produced by American-based Advanced Formulations, which boasts that it is highly addictive and, unlike nicotine patches or gum, will not help smokers kick the habit.

Former Shadow Health Secretary Ann Widdecombe criticised the company for producing a tobacco-based product to get round the smoking ban.

And anti-smoking groups said addicts should be encouraged to give up rather than be given an alternative.

Conservative MP Mrs Widdecombe, a staunch anti-smoker, said: “It is a negative that the makers of this product are promoting it as a way to beat the smoking ban.

“Sadly, there will always be alternatives to smoking which manage to beat the system.”

Elspeth Lee, Cancer Research UK’s tobacco control manager, said NicoFix contained the same harmful ingredients as cigarettes.

“There are far safer medicinal nicotine products such as gum or patches that don’t contain tobacco,” she said.

“We would urge smokers to use these if they are indoors and are having problems with nicotine cravings.”

Ruairi O’Connor, public affairs manager at the British Heart Foundation, described NicoFix as yet another product that appeared to offer smokers a nicotine fix without having to smoke.

He added: “However, as the manufacturers themselves stress, it does still contain tobacco, so is still harmful.

“It will also not have been through the same rigorous tests as nicotine replacement therapy, which is proven to be an effective aid to quitting.”

NicoFix will be launched officially in the UK tomorrow. Sean Campbell, chief executive of Advanced Formulations, said: “It is not a product to help people give up smoking. It is to help smokers get over the ban when it comes in next month. “Whether they are stuck indoors at work and in need of a cigarette, or in a bar and unable to light up, NicoFix can come to the rescue. It will get them past the cravings.

“It is addictive so it is not something that non-smokers should try.”

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Hand Gel Provides Nicotine Fix When Smoking Isn’t Allowed

January 10, 2007

NEW YORK — A new hand gel is starting to appear on drug-store shelves promising more than just an end to germs or dry skin — this one claims to satisfy users’ tobacco cravings for up to four hours.

Walgreen Co. (WAG), the largest U.S. drugstore chain by sales, is now stocking its more than 5,500 stores with packets of Nicogel, a quick-evaporating gel made with tobacco extracts. The roll-out should be finished within a couple weeks, said company spokeswoman Carol Hively in an e-mail, adding that it costs $5.99 for box of 10 doses.

Nicogel, made by a unit of privately held Blue Whale Worldwide Inc., can be used when smoking is inconvenient, such as at work, on an airplane, in a theater or, these days, in almost any other public place.

Blue Whale, which also sells a smokeless tobacco substitute made from tea leaves, is hoping to cash in on the increasing number of smoking bans and the ill-effects of second-hand smoke, Chief Executive Bill Whalen said in an interview this week.

“The potential for this product is enormous,” said Whalen, a horticultural geneticist with a business degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “The most important thing is smoking bans. (Also, more) people don’t want to smell like smoke.”

Nicogel, which is already sold in 40 other countries including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, could generate $200 million in U.S. sales this year, Whalen said, predicting that sales will reach $1 billion by the end of 2008.

Smoking bans, which have cleared some air in places such as New York, Washington D.C., Louisiana, and Philadelphia, are helping to make cigarette alternatives, like smokeless tobacco, the fastest-growing segment of the industry, according to Charles Norton, portfolio manager of the Vice Fund, which has $75 million under management.

The U.S. moist smokeless tobacco category, which is dominated by Skoal and Copenhagen maker UST Inc., is one-tenth the size of the cigarette market, but is seeing unit volumes grow 8 percent to 9 percent a year, Norton said. By contrast, U.S. annual consumption of cigarettes is falling 1 percent to 2 percent.

Cigarette makers such as Altria Group Inc. unit Philip Morris USA have been able to offset declining volumes by raising prices, Norton said.

MARKETING KEY TO SUCCESS

But Nicogel’s success will hinge on marketing, Norton said.

“Even (for) the established smokeless tobacco companies … it’s all marketing and promotion spending and how aggressive they can be. For a small private company, I question how much marketing muscle they could put behind it,” Norton said.

Nicogel plans to spend “upward of $15 million” this year on marketing campaigns in national newspapers and magazines, as well as through nightclubs and hospital chains, which Whalen said are interested in Nicogel for their patients, doctors and nurses.

The clear gel, which Whalen said will soon turn up in other large chains, has all the components of tobacco but lacks many carcinogens, which are formed as cigarettes burn.

Patrick Reynolds, spokesman for the Foundation for a Smokefree America, said many anti-smoking advocates will likely oppose the use of Nicogel, claiming that it enables smokers to avoid stopping.

“My feeling is different. I am OK with these products, which help a smoker get through nicotine cravings,” said Reynolds, whose grandfather, R.J. Reynolds, founded the tobacco company that became Camel and Kool maker Reynolds American Inc. .

“Our feeling is that if you can ease a smoker’s way … if you can give them a little comfort or relief temporarily, we don’t see anything wrong with that,” Reynolds said.