Why New Tobacco “Harm-Reduction” Products Should Be Regulated
Published 11/1/2008
Author: Marvin E. Goldberg
View this contentExecutive Summary
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R.1108; S.666 2007) now before Congress, is intended give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power “to ensure that there is effective oversight of the tobacco industry’s efforts to develop, introduce and promote less harmful tobacco products” (p. 14). Currently, unless a health-related claim is made, the FDA has no jurisdiction over tobacco products. One such “harm-reduction” product is called “snus”—loose ground tobacco in a small tea bag–like sachet. It is not chewed; instead, it is typically placed behind the upper gum for up to 30 minutes. First introduced in the 1980s, the product has attracted approximately 20% of Swedish males but relatively few (2%) of Swedish females. Much of the growth in the market for snus has come from cigarette smokers switching to snus. Because of the different process for curing the snus tobacco and refrigerating it through the channel to the consumer, several carcinogens are reduced if not eliminated. In addition, given the absence of combustion, several carcinogenic chemicals are not generated. As a result, epidemiological studies in Sweden have found little by way of the standard increased risks—either cancer (mouth, head, or neck) or cardiovascular (in general, there is no increased risk of heart attacks). In the United States, both Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds have snus in a test market, using the Marlboro and Camels brand names, respectively. At first consideration, the success of snus in Sweden would suggest that nothing should be done to impede its development in the United States. However, from a broader societal perspective, at least three problems suggest caution and the need for regulatory oversight. First, snus could serve as a “gateway” for adolescents. The use of the Marlboro and Camel brand names positions these snus as bridge products to the cigarettes of the same names. Second, in the test market, snus are promoted as a temporary replacement product, suggesting that smokers use it as an alternative to cigarettes in the growing number of situations where they cannot smoke. With this type of promotion, smokers will likely come to view snus as nothing more than one type of tobacco product filling in for another and will revert to their cigarettes whenever possible. Third, the safety of snus in both an absolute and a relative sense is itself in question. Even given the relative absence of disease in assessing the Swedish experience, studies have found potentially heightened risks of pancreatic cancer, premature birth, dental disease, and oral lesions among users. Pharmaceutical nicotine replacement products in the form of a patch, gum, and lozenges represent a safer but more highly regulated alternative. The United States should follow the lead of 11 European countries in loosening the regulatory restrictions on these products. This would include (1) permitting broader distribution into a wider range of retail outlets (the products are currently limited to pharmacies) and (2) allowing and encouraging concurrent use of the products with cigarettes as a means of encouraging gradual smoking reduction as a step toward cessation.
Biography
Marvin E. Goldberg is Irving & Irene Bard Professor of Marketing in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University, where he served as the interim dean in 1999–2000 and chairman of the Marketing Department from 2000 to 2006. Dr. Goldberg has been at Penn State since 1991. Before that, he was a professor in the Faculty of Management at McGill University. Dr. Goldberg holds a PhD in Marketing from the University of Illinois, an MA in Sociology from Columbia University, and a BA (Honors Political Science and Sociology) from McGill University. Dr. Goldberg’s research has focused on assessing factors that contribute to advertising’s effectiveness. Much of his work has involved the study of advertising’s effects on children and adolescents. Recently, he has explored strategies for making young people more vigilant with regard to tobacco and alcohol advertising. His research has been published in a wide variety of scholarly journals, including Journal of Consumer Research, Journal Consumer Psychology, Journal Marketing Research, and Journal Public Policy & Marketing. He is coeditor of Social Marketing: Theoretical and Practical Perspectives (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 1997). Dr. Goldberg’s work has been widely cited by the print media, including BusinessWeek and The Wall Street Journal; interviews on CBS and CBC network news programs are among his many broadcast appearances. Dr. Goldberg is the Inaugural winner (2006) of the Richard Pollay Prize for Excellence in the Study of Marketing in the Public Interest. He is currently a consultant to the National Center for Health Marketing of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is a past president of the Society for Consumer Psychology and a cofounder of the Innovations in Social Marketing organization. Dr. Goldberg is a fellow of the Society for Consumer Psychology. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, and Social Marketing Quarterly. He has been invited to serve as a member of several expert panels in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Dr. Goldberg has been a consultant for a large number of private and public institutions and has been active as an expert witness in tobacco-related litigation.
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Volume 27, Number 2, Fall 2008
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