HHS HealthBeat (December 23, 2008)

Targeted for smokeless

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Between 2000 and 2006, moist snuff tobacco sales increased by about a quarter. Who’s using it, and why?

Gregory Connolly of the Harvard School of Public Health looked into that.

Connelly says manufacturers attracted new users with products that have sweet flavors. He says manufacturers also had some milder brands – less free nicotine – so new users would be less likely to feel physically ill. They could ramp up nicotine later.

[Gregory Connolly speaks] “Free nicotine is nicotine that readily absorbs through the gums into the mouth, making the product highly addictive.”

And he says manufacturers cut prices to make the product more appealing than cigarettes.

Connolly’s study in BMJ – the British Medical Journal – was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

Last revised: December, 23 2008