Cheney Kenny, a sweet popular with children, allegedly contains harmful ingredients, according to a top official. The sweet contains traces of nicotine, glycerin, Vitol, menthol, diethyl, cotinine, which often lead to addiction, said Lt. Col. Khalid Al Sumaidi, Senior Chemist, General Directorate of Criminal Evidence and Criminology, Dubai Police.

Popularly known as ‘tobacco candy’ the sweet is also sold in shops near schools which is a serious concern, especially as parents are not aware of the harmful effects of the candy. Students who become addicted to it place the sweet in between their lip and gum for effect, reported ‘Al Bayan’.

He explained that nicotine is not soluble in water. It is absorbed by the skin inside the mouth and goes through blood to the brain in seven seconds. It results in euphoria and relaxation, while long-term addiction may lead to paralysis of the respiratory system, added Al Sumaidi.

The Tobacco Control Bill prohibits the sale or attempted sale of sweets and games that are similar to tobacco or its products, and anyone who violates any provision of this Article, will be jailed for not less than one year along with a Dh1,000 fine.

The state Department of Public Health has started a campaign to hamper the sale of cheap, smokeless, candy-flavored tobacco products targeted at teens and young adults in Massachusetts. Is it just another example of Big Government shoving nanny state policies down the throats of Massachusetts residents? (Long live Four Loko!) Or is banning the sale of addictive products that increase the likelihood of certain cancers — and that are being marketed to young people — just a common-sense measure for the Commonwealth to propose?

I have to admit my eyes rolled when I first read the news — which seems to be my general reaction whenever I hear about government proposals to police the things people do with and to their own bodies. But on second thought, those disposable tobacco pellets sure do look like tic tacs! And that berry-flavored cigar certainly looks cute wrapped in that pink, sparkly packaging! I’m not sure there’s any way to justify things like that.

Candies made to resemble cigarettes are one thing, but cigarettes made to look and taste like candy are an entirely different problem. In my book, the latter is much worse than the former.

What do you think? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

I don’t want kids to smoke cigarettes. So I think it is a good thing that there are groups out there educating the public about the dangers of smoking and why kids should not start using tobacco products of any kind. But something unfortunate has happened. Some anti-tobacco groups have gone too far. I’d have thought that wasn’t possible. How could anti-tobacco advice go too far? They can, by straying from the facts and pursuing their good agenda, facts notwithstanding.

My colleague, Dr. Michael Seigel, a Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, has done an excellent job of chronicling examples of anti-tobacco groups who have lost their “truth” compass. He does this because he believes, like I do, that strong, credible anti-tobacco groups can do a service to the public health — and that dishonest groups do us a disservice.

His blog today is an excellent example of how these groups have gone awry. He writes:

According to an anti-tobacco group — SWAT (Florida) — the tobacco companies are making candy-flavored cigarettes to try to entice youth to smoke. This claim means that the tobacco companies are violating federal law, which precludes them from marketing candy-flavored cigarettes.

The specific claim is as follows: “No joke. Big Tobacco is making candy-flavored tobacco to get you to smoke. Do they think you’re stupid? Yes, they do. But you can do something about it. On March 23rd, join kids from all across the nation for Kick Butts Day and stand up against Big Tobacco.”

As Dr. Seigel points out, the claims just aren’t true. But they aren’t true for different reasons than he originally (and reasonably) thought. I shared some of my research with Dr. Seigel, who explained that I had

communicated with the SWAT group, which explained that its claim that Big Tobacco is marketing candy-flavored tobacco to entice youth to smoke is based on the contention that the marketing of candy-flavored snus will lead to youth use of snus which will in turn lead to kids starting to smoke cigarettes. I thank Jeff for this update and for the original tip that led to this post.

If this explanation is correct, then the web site statement is terribly misleading, because it implies that Big Tobacco is still marketing candy-flavored cigarettes, rather than this convoluted explanation of how candy-flavored snus is going to cause kids to start smoking. If this is what was meant, than the site should simply have stated so. Moreover, the site should have backed up the claim with evidence to support this contention. I am not aware of any such evidence but I’m sure if this group is making the claim, it must have some evidence to support it.

One person coming out in strong opposition of smokeless tobacco leaves sold in candy-flavors is the Halifax MP Megan Leslie. The NDP health critic has already proposed a new member’s bill that will result in a ban being imposed on such products if it is approved. The ban will particularly affect small cigarillos or cigars. In an interview on Tuesday, Leslie opined that the sale of such products should be considered a criminal act. The sale f such products raised the chances of children developing the habit of smoking in the early teenage years of their life.

She informed that kids first start using these products because they look like lip gloss and markers. Apart from that parents can be fooled when kids use such candies.

The sale of flavored cigarettes and some type of cigarillos was banned in 2009 and the bill is known as C-32. However, the law failed to implement a ban on the sale of flavored smokeless tobacco product. There is another loophole in the act as the sale of filter less cigarillos us allowed.

Leslie has proposed the bill in the House of Commons on Monday. She had previously held a news conference in Ottawa with an Ontario student group known as Flavour Gone.

A statewide ban on flavored nicotine candy failed in House Business and Labor Committee on Friday. Representative Paul Ray’s bill would have banned stores from selling gum, dissolving strips and other candy-like products that have not been approved by the FDA for helping someone quit smoking. A frustrated Ray addressed his supporters in the hallway after his bill was voted down.

“What they’re telling us is their profits, tobacco companies’ profits are a lot more important than the health of Utah children and Utah families, and that is not to be tolerated,” he said. “I say we come out there, we work the legislature, we do not let this issue die. Do not feel like you’ve been beaten. You got duped.”
Lawmakers on the committee argued they would support restrictions on nicotine candies, but an outright ban that would impact the rights of responsible adults goes too far.
Bonneville High School’s Nick Porter, who came to the hearing to support the measure, was in tears outside the committee room when it was voted down.
“I’m just disappointed that our state officials can’t make a decision to serve the families and to protect the kids,” he told KCPW. “This is something I feel passionately about that we should keep out of Utah something that’s so deadly.”
The bill was rejected on a 4-to-10 vote. But Ray said he still has a chance to bring it back to committee, which he plans to do.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The World Trade Organization (WTO) will issue a ruling on a dispute between Indonesia and the United States over a U.S. ban on clove-flavored cigarettes, Reuters reports. Indonesia alleges the U.S. is abusing health regulations as it bans clove cigarettes while allowing U.S. tobacco manufacturers to continue marketing menthol cigarettes.

In response, the U.S. maintains flavored tobacco attracts young people to smoking, and that the ban applies uniformly to clove cigarettes from all countries.

The WTO’s dispute settlement body agreed to establish a panel to rule on the dispute.

Indonesia said its clove cigarettes have been shut out of the U.S. since September 2009, and that it had been trying to resolve the issue. It said it could not wait for the U.S. to complete its review of menthol cigarettes, which is not expected until March 2011.

The U.S. imported $15.2 million of clove cigarettes, nearly all from Indonesia, in 2008, accounting for less than 0.1 percent of cigarette consumption at the time. Indonesia claims that menthol cigarettes now make up 28 percent of U.S. cigarette consumption.

Source: www.nacsonline.com.

An artfully disguised racket to promote smoking among young children with the use of cigarette-shaped candy has been detected in many parts of the country. This candy is now freely available for sale at various outlets in the main towns including Colombo.The candy which wraped with a cigarette shaped cover is meant to be sucked by placing it between the lips – similar to how a cigarette is smoked.

Professor Carlo Fonseka, the chairman of the National Commission to curb the use of Tobacco and Alcohol and Drugs said he was unaware of this latest racket.

“However, if anyone wishes to make a complaint regarding such material they can inform the District Tobacco Control Centres (DTCC) and necessary action will be taken against the sellers,” he assured.

The DTCC are regional units of NATA and comprises officials from the Excise Department and other government bodies.

Professor Fonseka said the public could also inform NATA regarding such matters by dialing the toll-free hotline No: 1948.

The promotion of cigarettes and liquor through advertising and other means is banned.

Smokers banished 25 feet from building entries and walkways could soon rejoin the masses by simply eating a mint instead. Dissolvable tobacco products, such as Ariva and Stonewall, have been on the market since 2001, but a new product line from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is causing quite a hubbub with health officials.

Camel Orbs, Camel Sticks and Camel Strips are made of highly refined tobacco that slowly dissolves in the mouth.

They come in mint or cinnamon flavors, cost about $4 a pack and are spicing up the smokeless tobacco industry as a spitless, non-obtrusive form of tobacco that health officials say is being marketed to kids.

The products began test marketing in Portland, Ore.; Columbus, Ohio; and Indianapolis in 2009.

David Howard, director of communications for Reynolds American Services, said in an e-mail that the company would “not speculate on any plans it may or may not be considering, and there is no timetable for nationwide distribution of the Camel tobacco products.”

While the mints may offer an under-the-radar nicotine fix for smokers, researchers from the American Academy of Pediatrics warn of the product’s potential to poison children and create addiction among youths.

A study published by the academy in its journal, Pediatrics, on April 19, examined child poisonings from tobacco ingestion and assessed the potential toxicity of smokeless tobacco products. The results found that smokeless tobacco products are the second-most commonly ingested by children, and concluded that dissolvable and novelty nicotine products require further study by public health authorities to determine regulations before national release.

The study describes the Orbs are a serious concern because of their “discreet form, candy-like appearance and added flavoring that may be attractive to young children.”

The colorful packing resembles that of Tic Tacs and claims to be “child-resistant.”

In a press release responding to the article published in Pediatrics, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company highlighted that 91 percent of accidental tobacco ingestions in the study involved cigarettes, butts, cigars and traditional moist snuff, but not its dissolvable tobacco products. The company said the study was “remarkably selective in its focus” and failed to include all potential household sources of nicotine products.

The bottom line, they said, is that tobacco products, along with many other goods, need to be kept out of the hands of children.

Although the products pose a risk to children, Swenson said people addicted to nicotine might find the product beneficial in situations where smoking is not permissible or is socially uncouth.

While having a smoke by the fountain in Red Square, Western seniors Eric Skaar and Jacob Eskenazi said they would use the Orbs as an alternative to smoking if it were cost-effective.

Eskenazi said the mints would come in handy in class or during finals week when he sometimes smokes as much as a pack a day to relieve stress. He said the mints would be much better for his lungs.

As for social situations, Skaar said the mints would be a lot easier for people to accept rather than the smelly hands and bad breath that are the result of smoking cigarettes.

“It’s not something you would want to do all the time,” Skaar said. “A real smoker would still like a cigarette sometimes and not some flavored bullshit.”

Jeanne Freeman, a health education professor at Western, said she is concerned by the amount of nicotine present in the product.

A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that Camel Orbs have an average of 0.83 mg of nicotine. Product information from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company said Camel Sticks contain 3.1 mg of nicotine per stick,

and Camel Strips contain 0.6 mg per strip.
According to the study, 1 mg of nicotine is enough to produce symptoms such as nausea and vomiting in a small child.
The study estimated the minimal lethal dose for a child is 1 mg of nicotine per kilogram of body weight, which means three to four Camel Orbs could kill a 7-pound baby.

Depending on the brand, a typical cigarette contains anywhere between 0.8 and 1.8 mg of nicotine.
“Since nicotine is the leading addictive agent in tobacco products,” Freeman said, “my question is whether these dissolvable products may increase nicotine addiction among users, thereby creating health issues from nicotine poisoning.”

Freeman said it is possible that adults might think one mint could not give them what they are seeking from a cigarette, and would then decide to consume three, four or five or more at the same time.
For those looking to alternative tobacco or nicotine products to quit smoking, Emily Gibson, director of the Student Health Center, said the regulated pharmaceutical nicotine replacement medications in gum, patch and nasal form are the best for a nicotine substitute.

“Stick with the products that have actually been tested and are monitored by governmental agencies,” Gibson said.
Until the smoke clears on the issue, the future of the dissolvable tobacco mints remains uncertain.

By Mitch Olsen, Westernfrontonline

More information is being demanded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about tobacco related products that come in a variety of flavors that children may mistake for candy.

According to Reuters, the products, made by Reynolds American Inc’s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co and by Star Scientific Inc, contain powdered “smokeless” tobacco and are brightly colored, with flavors such as coffee and mint.

Products such as Snus, a no-spit tobacco pouch meant to be placed under the upper lip, are aimed at adults who must deal with a growing number of smoking bans in public places as well as those looking to stop smoking.

Another product called Orbs is a dissolvable breath-mint sized tobacco that can easily be mistaken for a Tic-Tac.

Health educator Isa Kaluhikaua told Reuters that if a child ingested three Orbs, they would get ill, and 10 could result in serious illness.

She said even though most of these products can be purchased off the shelf, the FDA has not yet approved them.

A letter from the FDA to Reynolds and Star Scientific said it was concerned that the products could draw in children and teenagers. Use of the products could lead to nicotine addiction and could even cause health problems from the ingestion of too much nicotine, the FDA said.

FDA is “concerned that children and adolescents may find dissolvable tobacco products particularly appealing, given the brightly colored packaging, candy-like appearance and easily concealable size of many of these products,” Lawrence Deyton, head of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, wrote February 1.

The company was not surprised by the letter and said they would cooperate fully.

“We’re happy to share information with them,” Sara Troy Machir rold Reuters.

While the FDA, in its letters to the two companies, acknowledged the products are marketed to adults, it nonetheless asked both manufacturers for extensive information on research and marketing practices for the products.

R.J. Reynolds markets three types of similar products under its Camel brand that deliver dissolvable nicotine in tablet, mouth strip and small matchstick-like forms.