Dissolvable tobacco products have been on the market since the early 2000s. Tobacco companies like R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. brand them to be healthier, yet a U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientific advisory panel said they could have the potential to increase the number of tobacco users.

Dissolvable tobacco products are made of finely milled tobacco and act as an alternative to cigarettes and moist snuff for adult consumers. Companies similar to R.J. Reynolds brand them to be more socially acceptable than cigarettes because they are spit-less, produce no secondhand smoke and no cigarette butt litter, according to a 2010 R.J. Reynolds statement.

The introduction of dissolvable tobacco products began about 10 years ago with the introduction of Ariva and Stonewall-branded tablets from Star Scientific Inc., according to a March 22 Time magazine article.

Offering products in three different varieties, Camel Orbs, Sticks and Strips, R.J. Reynolds began marketing dissolvable tobacco products in 2009 to provide a variety of different products, according to the company’s website.

Richard Smith, manager of digital communications at R.J. Reynolds, declined to comment.

The products range in nicotine content, but R.J. Reynolds officials say they are all priced comparably to other smokeless tobacco products, carry the same health warnings and have the same tax rates as other tobacco products, according to the statement.

The FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee report found that exclusive use of dissolvable tobacco products would greatly reduce an individual’s health risks, compared with regular use of cigarettes. It could also reduce population-level disease burdens by reducing the number of people who smoke or don’t start smoking, according to the Time article.

But the report also found that the availability of dissolvable tobacco products might make people think tobacco in general is safer.

Areesh Haq, a senior psychology major, said she has never tried dissolvable tobacco and does not find it appealing.

‘I smoke cigarettes because I enjoy it, not because I’m addicted to it. If I stopped, I wouldn’t need nicotine to not do it again,’ she said.

Although Haq has not heard much about dissolvable tobacco before, she said she believes it could be a healthier product.

‘I don’t know much about it, but if it’s better for you than smoking and you are doing it for the nicotine, then I guess it’s better,’ Haq said.

Sarah Cullen, a senior art history major, said she also has never tried them and would not want to. She said she would prefer to not use tobacco altogether rather than using an alternative method.

‘I haven’t heard of many people using them, but the ones I have are mostly kids playing around with tobacco products like Camel Snus,’ she said.

On the other hand, Cullen said she does not believe dissolvable tobacco could be healthier. She said society is repeatedly lectured on how tobacco has negative effects, so a product with nicotine is still addictive and no better than cigarettes.

‘I think it’s a way to keep people addicted to nicotine,’ Cullen said. ‘I don’t think they are a good idea. You either smoke tobacco or not, that’s how I see it. And if you do, you should quit the old-fashioned way.’

kfluttma@syr.edu 

Published on April 2, 2012 at 12:00 pm