May 26--Two U.S. senators are aiming to snuff out dissolvable smokeless-tobacco products before they can get a toehold in the U.S. market.
Their amendment to the proposed FDA regulation bill from Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., is stoking the debate regarding the viability and possible less-hazardous role of smokeless tobacco products.
U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, have labeled as "tobacco candy" the three dissolvable products being test marketed by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
The senators say that the dissolvable products are aimed at getting youths hooked on tobacco and nicotine. They said that some of the products are sold in containers "designed to resemble cell phones."
"There is no doubt that smokeless tobacco products are aimed squarely at children," Brown said. "We have a responsibility to protect children from suggestive marketing and dangerous products."
Reynolds counters that the products -- a pellet (Camel Orbs), a twisted stick the size of a toothpick (Camel Sticks) and a filmlike strip for the tongue (Camel Strips) -- are aimed at adult consumers who want to use a tobacco product in places where they can no longer smoke by federal and state law.
Reynolds is plowing ahead with its smokeless-tobacco initiatives as part of what Susan Ivey, its chairwoman and chief executive, calls its transformation into becoming a "total tobacco company." The company is considered the industry leader in next-generation smokeless products.
In October, Reynolds introduced the dissolvable products in test markets in Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis and Portland, Ore. The products are made of finely milled tobacco and come in flavor styles called "fresh" and "mellow." They last from two to three minutes for the strips, 10 to 15 minutes for the orbs and 20 to 30 minutes for the sticks.
The senators' amendment was approved last week by a 15-8 vote, mostly along party lines, in the Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pension. Both North Carolina senators, Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagan, voted against the amendment.
The Kennedy bill is expected to be dealt with in the Senate next week. Like the House version of the bill that was passed in April, it would impose restrictions on the marketing of cigarettes, cigars and smokeless tobacco and allow the FDA to regulate the content of cigarettes.
In March, Burr and Hagan introduced an alternative tobacco-regulation bill that has made little progress. Their bill would create a new federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to solely regulate tobacco instead of assigning the task to the FDA.
Burr and Hagan said that the massive recall of tainted peanut products and other problems at the FDA demonstrate that the agency is too "overburdened" to oversee such an important component of North Carolina's economy as tobacco. Burr has threatened to filibuster the Kennedy bill.
By introducing the amendment, the senators may be providing the means for scientifically proving whether smokeless products are less hazardous than cigarettes.
Such a definitive test in the United States, which would be under the auspices of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory committee, has been requested for years by advocates on both sides of the issue. A report would be presented within two years to the FDA if it is given oversight of the industry.
Julie Edwards, a spokeswoman for Merkley, said that unlike nicotine gum, which is meant to be used for a limited time with decreasing use of nicotine, "tobacco candy is meant to start or continue the addiction and may have even higher doses of nicotine than cigarettes."
"We are talking about a product that hasn't been strenuously studied but is assumed to carry many of the same risks as chewing tobacco -- including the risk of cancer."
Both Reynolds officials and some smokeless-tobacco advocates dispute Edwards' statement on higher doses of nicotine in smokeless products.
Tommy Payne, the executive vice president of public affairs for Reynolds, said that the senators' amendment is part of an "abstinence-only strategy that only provides three options for smokers -- cigarettes, nicotine replacement or quitting cold turkey."
"Our smokeless products are part of a strategy aimed at harm reduction that is backed by scientists and elements of the antismoking advocacy groups," Payne said.
"Their intent with the dissolvable study could be beneficial to our efforts if the science reveals what we believe it will."
Bill Godshall, the executive director of SmokeFree Pennsylvania, said that "many inaccurate and misleading claims were made about the least hazardous tobacco products" by senators and others at the markup session. He is an advocate of switching smokers to smokeless products for health benefits.
He said that efforts to diminish or snuff out the impact of smokeless products would keep those unable or unwilling to quit cigarettes hooked on their habit.
"The amendment's real intent was to poison and pre-empt passage of, and any objective discussion about, responsible tobacco harm-reduction amendments that can significantly reduce cigarette consumption and save the lives of millions of smokers," Godshall said.
"By repeatedly referring to Camel Orbs as candy, and by falsely accusing Reynolds of target marketing them to youth -- which if true, would be actionable violations of both the Master Settlement Agreement and state minimum-age sales laws -- the senators went over-the-top to protect Marlboro's lethal cigarette empire from harm-reduction market competition by Reynolds' far less hazardous smoke-free alternatives."
Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.
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