Marlboro Snus Isn’t Really Snus
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Jonathan Foulds, MA, MAppSci, PhD
Swedish snus is a moist snuff product (50% water) that delivers a comparable amount of nicotine to a cigarette. However, it appears that most of the versions being test-marketed in the US have very low nicotine delivery. Marlboro snus, in particular, appears to be a quite different product from Swedish snus. It is relatively dry (12% water), has a low pH, and therefore delivers an amount of nicotine to the blood that is less than 20% of that delivered by leading brands of Swedish snus (e.g. General) or US smokeless (e.g. Copenhagen) or cigarettes. On analyzing some of the data on Marlboro snus, and trying to understand why Philip Morris have produced a product with such low nicotine delivery, Dr Helena Furberg (from University of North Carolina) and I suspect that the product may be designed to fail. If you have tried any of the new smokeless tobacco products being test-marketed in the US or other countries (e.g Taboka, Camel snus, Marlboro snus, Ariva, Exalt, Skoal Dry, Revel, etc) I’d be interested to hear what you thought of them and their marketing.
If you are thinking of switching from smoking to a safer form of nicotine delivery, then far better to miss out the tobacco products altogether and move onto a product with reasonable nicotine delivery but no carcinogens, like 4mg nicotine gum. Some of the NRT products are now being sold in much better flavors than the original. They are not intended for long-term use, but if you feel you want to keep taking nicotine in a form that won’t kill you, this is a better choice than some unregulated tobacco product with unknown ingredients and nicotine delivery.
If you’d like to read the full article on Marlboro snus, with links to other data, it can be accessed at:
http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/5/1/9
Labels: jonathan foulds, marlboro snus, nicotine regulation reduction smoking smokeless, tobacco
10 Comments:
At Thu Mar 06, 11:45:00 AM 2008,
Anonymous said…
Dr. Foulds,
You mentioned 4 mg nicotine gum and it not being carcinogenic. I am an ex smoker who "enjoys" two pieces of 2/mg nicotine gum each day (generic brand). I love it and I haven't smoked as a result of my chewing habit in years. I am, however, addicted to the 2/mg gum and have questioned whether I should quit chewing it. Other than it being addictive, does 2/mg nicotine gum pose any short- or long-term health complication risks?
Thanks
At Thu Mar 06, 07:40:00 PM 2008,
Jonathan Foulds, MA, MAppSci, PhD said…
Dear Anonymous of March 6th,
People who feel that they are addicted to nicotine gum typically chew more than 2 pices per day. In that case then there can occasionally be the unwanted effects of chronic chewing: jaw ache and gradual wear-and-tear.
Nicotine doesn't cause cancer of the respiratory diseases caused by smoking. There is a slight, theoretical cardiovascular risk (nicotine stimulates heart rate and causes constriction of blood vessels). However the epidemiology of long term heavy smokeless tobacco users (who absorb high doses of nicotine without smoke) suggests that these risks are very small even after decades of use. At the level you are using the gum they are negligible. The main situation where there would be a strong reason to come of the gum would be if you were pregnant as nicotine is definately not good for the unborn child. So assuming you are not pregnant or planning to be, your risks are negligible and need to be weighed against the risks of returning to smoking if you cease using the gum.
At Fri Jul 04, 04:46:00 PM 2008,
Mr. UnloadingZone said…
Dr Foulds,
You missed the one single most significant item about Marlboro "snus": nicotine aside, it isn't snus at all: they just use the name.
The most important factors in my choosing Swedish snus to replace cigarettes was that Swedish snus is regulalated as a food product, and MOST importantly, it is steam pasturized to eliminate carcinogenic micro-organisms.
Unlike Swedish, and yes, even Camel snus, Marlboro does NOT steam or heat pasturize their product. Thus it is no safer than American Chewing tobacco or "dip".
Exhustive long-term studies in Europe have shown that Swedish men are the largest user group of snus in Europe, yet have the lowest incidents of oral or lung cancer.
Nicotine, as you correctly point out, is not a carcinigen. When snus's popularity began to grow, "research" emerged that "long term use" (undefined) of snus can cause pancreatic cancer via the nicotine.
Ultimately, this may be proven true but right now, has the credibility that "second hand smoke caused lung cancer" when that so-called research was first released in the 1960's. At the time, (and at this time with snus) there were no long-term or even short term studies that proved this.
It was a brilliant marketing ploy and a good guess by the 1960's "we don't like the way cigarettes smell" group.
Until then, non-smokers who didn't like the oder of smoke would say "let him kill himself; I'm smarter than that." The second hand smoke argument changed all that. Suddenly it's "I don't like the smell AND he's killing me too!" All with NO evidence at the time.
Today the case is better, though I seem to remember a few years ago the WHO publishing a 20 year study which concluded there was no measurable rise in the cancer rates of non-smokers due to 2nd hand smoke.
The outcry was enormous and the study was taken down from their web site within 24 hours.
The only relevency in my bringing that up was; in regards to snus, the benefits so outweigh the "possible long-term", as of now, unsupstanciated claims of a few linking it to pancreatic cancer that their "research" is really not worth considering at this point.
I no longer smoke cigarettes, am not forced to go through nicotine withdrawl or abstinance, and can still enjoy great tobacco taste...discreetly. With real Swedish snus.
As to Marlboro, they are either misrepresenting their porduct or found it unnecessarily to explain in their FAQ's if it really is snus or not. As I read them today, it's not.
Sincerely,
Mr. Unloadingzone
At Fri Jul 04, 04:51:00 PM 2008,
Mr. UnloadingZone said…
Dr. Foulds,
I forgot to mention, in regards to nicotine, Swedish snus ranges from no nicotine at all up to about 11mg in the Stong/Stark/Sterk variety.
Sincerely,
Mr. Unloadingzone
At Thu Jul 24, 12:44:00 PM 2008,
Anonymous said…
you said you were interested in experiences of people who tried new american brands of snus-
I've tried camel snus, based on the safety hype, as a non smoker. I like how it makes me feel, but the flavors, even in the unflavored variety, have become nauseating. It is like they used really cheap artificial flavors, bad enough to keep me from making a habit develop. I really enjoy the buzz though.
At Sun Mar 01, 07:55:00 PM 2009,
Anonymous said…
I have tried the camel snus. I have cut out my smokes completely. the package says use for a half an hour. I can let it ride there for about four hours an my cravings stave off. so it saves me alot of money compared to the pack an a half a day habit i had. The flavor Is good. I have tried the mellow an the frost. The frost taste like double mint gum. An the Mellow taste like old fashioned hore hound candy. the flavor lasts most of the four hours. So i think camel for putting it out in my area. I feel better all ready with out the smoking an im sure i smell better lol. thanks for giving me this outlet
At Tue Jul 28, 01:55:00 PM 2009,
Lojiko said…
I've been a tobacco user for 15 years. I began by using American smokeless tobacco, typically multiple flavors of Skoal long-cut.
After about three years, I became a pack-a-day Marlboro Ultralight smoker. Three years after that, I became a weekly smoker, only smoking while drinking (about a pack a week). After seven years, I became a daily smoker again, using about 4 - 8 cigarettes per day.
A few months ago I discovered Camel Snus Mellow - good flavor, but not much nicotine, by my subjective assessment. I've also tried various varieties of genuine imported Swedish snus. The Swedish snus has more of a "kick". One brand actually gave me chest pains and shortness of breath (wouldn't recommend that one!).
Aside from all that I'm pretty happy with snus for now, but will soon be seeing my GP about a tobacco elimination med, such as Chantix. I might miss the snus though. ;)
At Wed Jul 29, 11:09:00 AM 2009,
Jonathan Foulds, MA, MAppSci, PhD said…
As mentioned in my posting, FDA-approved smoking cessation medicines like nicotine gum are preferable to smokeless tobacco as a quit smoking aid. But the previous comment appears to be from someone who used smokeless as a non-smoker. I'm not sure if they were an existing smokeless user but just to be clear...if you dont currently use any tobacco or nicotine products then it makes no sense to risk becoming addicted and potentially damaging your health. Nicotine is not completely harmless (e.g. it is harmful to the fetus in pregnancy and it impairs blood circulation) so if you dont need it as a smoking cessation aid, dont start using it unless advised to by your doctor (which would be only in extremely unusual circumstances).
At Thu Aug 06, 11:01:00 AM 2009,
Anonymous said…
In regards to another poster's comments about Marlboro Snus not being pasteurized. You are incorrect, the product is indeed pasteurized. Not sure where you got your information, but I was a consultant hired on to help develop the product, and am 100% sure the product goes through a pasteurization process.
At Thu Sep 10, 08:20:00 PM 2009,
DL said…
I started smoking in my later 30's. Shame on me. I smoked Marlboro or Camel lights. I got up to about a pack a day.
I tried nicotine gum, but found myself smoking *and* chewing gum at the same time. Obviously not working.
I gave up the gum, oddly enough, in favor of the cigarettes.
I was giving up cigarettes, again, and ended up with pneumonia in early 2009. My lungs were beginning to ache and I decided I had to quit smoking cigarettes. I saw Camel Snus and was seduced by the pretty metal tins. For the last 2 months I have all-but-stopped smoking. But, if I run out of Snus, I'm likely to start rummaging around for a half-smoked butt. I also ran out of Snus, didn't have time to buy any before work, and did a day of unrepentant withdrawal. It was like I had never quit smoking. Disclaimer, Snus has been "on special (paid for by Big Tobacco)" at less than $3 for 12, vs around $4.50 for 15 normal in NY. (We are taxed heavily, so I have no idea what this translates to elsewhere.)
The point is, I am still addicted to nicotine, or ... whatever else is engineered into these nicotine delivery devices.
AND, I am still glad I am not smoking. My energy is up, my lungs don't ache anymore. The toxicity may not be good, but I'm hoping I get off Snus before it accumulates and causes (an unknown and unstudied amount of) damage.
I am writing this as I chew my 3rd 2mg nicotine gum between coming home and going to bed. The nicotine gum's effectiveness wears off very quickly, within an hour, whereas I agree with another post that says that Snus can go from 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on the quality of the little pack.
My questions are:
1) If Big Tobacco is as responsible as it says it is, why can't this billion-dollar industry afford to measure the nicotine delivery of its own product.
2) Is the "enjoy for up to 30 minutes" language written by lawyers who realize that leaving the thing in your mouth overnight (which has happened with me) may not be good for the skin in your mouth.
I'm just curious. I am still responsible for my own actions and addictions. I just wish there was honesty in industry, FDA, ATF, etc.
Post a Comment
<< Home