Tobacco mints, strips and toothpicks that melt in your mouth are considered the new frontier for tobacco companies, but some state and federal regulatory agencies are not sure how to classify the products, Time reports.
Last week, the Colorado Department of Public Health held a hearing on dissolvable tobacco products to talk about how the products could appeal to teenagers and children. Stephanie Walton, with the state’s health department, said that youth could be attracted to the price points and packaging of Camel Orbs, Sticks and Strips, which are being tested in Colorado and North Carolina by R.J. Reynolds. Dissolvable tobacco is not subject to regular tobacco taxes.
Marlboro and Skoal have been piloting dissolvable tobacco sticks in Kansas. Star Scientific has had dissolvable products Ariva and Stonewall on the market for 10 years, but the company has kept a lower profile in marketing the products.
Camel’s dissolvables are minty, small and easy to hide, detractors point out. R.J. Reynolds countered by saying the products are sold in convenience stores and other places next to tobacco products with the same health warnings and age restrictions.
Opponents also object to the appearance of dissolvables, saying they look like treats. “Those who keep referring to these tobacco products as 'candy' or 'mints' are irresponsibly perpetuating false and misleading information,” said Richard Smith, spokesman for R.J. Reynolds.
R.J. Reynolds developed its line of dissolvables to help smokers in an era of increased smoking bans. “They meet societal expectations,” said Smith. “There's no second-hand smoke, there's no spitting, and with dissovables, there's no cigarette-butt litter.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently looking into marketing and health effects of dissolvable tobacco products for a report due March 2012.
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