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Camel Snus in the Tent
R.J. Reynolds,
which last year voluntarily stopped buying magazine ads for
its cigarette brands, has begun advertising Camel Snus, an
American version of Swedish-style oral snuff, in magazines such as
Maxim, Rolling Stone, and Sports
Illustrated. "None of us would say the risk of snus products
is the same as smoked products," Johns Hopkins pharmacologist Jack
Henningfield tells
The New York Times, "because it's not." That depends on
which "us" Henningfield has in mind. Anti-smoking
activists and public health officials have
a dishonorable history of deliberately obscuring the huge differences in risk
between cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. "If [smokers]
switched 100 percent from cigarettes," Henningfield concedes,
"there is likely a harm reduction." Since the health risks
associated with snus are tiny compared to the hazards of
cigarettes, that's a pretty grudging understatement.
Henningfield worries that the way R.J. Reynolds is marketing its snus packets—as a means for smokers to enjoy tobacco in situations where they're not allowed to light up—could be "harm increasing if people delay quitting because of them." Harvard public health professor Gregory Connolly likewise complains that "Camel clearly is not marketing snus as a replacement product; it's a complementary product." They do not acknowledge, and the Times fails to note, that the new law authorizing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products prohibits R.J. Reynolds and other companies from marketing snus as a safer alternative to cigarettes. That's one of the provisions R.J. Reynolds has challenged in its First Amendment lawsuit. It also seeks to overturn a ban on the use of pictures, color, or logos in publications seen by substantial numbers of minors (more than 2 million or more than 15 percent of readers). That rule, which has not taken effect yet, would bar even the current snus ads.
More on smokeless tobacco here.
|9.22.09 @ 6:35PM|#
Anyone else keep seeing 'anus' for 'snus', or have I been hanging around the bad Hit n Run threads too long?
Joe M|9.22.09 @ 6:40PM|#
This is almost perfectly analogous (sorry Johnny) to abstinence advocates complaining about sex education.
Mister DNA|9.22.09 @ 6:43PM|#
Johnny, even with only two comments in this thread, I would have been disappointed if no one had made the snus/anus comparison.
Stretchy|9.22.09 @ 6:55PM|#
The tobacco industry got sued for lying about its product. Can the gov't and anti-smoking groups be sued for the same?
Tricky Prickears|9.22.09 @ 7:04PM|#
Thanks, but I'll stick to my Marlboros.
Oral snuff? Sounds like a porn movie.
Anonymous|9.22.09 @ 7:56PM|#
I read it as "SINUS frost", which makes me wonder what a nasally-applied icicle would feel like. MMM, BRISK!
BlueBook|9.22.09 @ 8:23PM|#
A smoker friend of mine recently switched to the new
"e-cigarettes", basically little gel packs heated by rechargeable
battery to release nicotine-laced steam. I was surprised, since
he's something of a smoking traditionalist, but he claims it feels
almost the same as the real thing, with a lower cost, less health
risk, and no restrictions on where he can light up. Plus, there's
almost no odor or residue, so even sensitive non-smokers like
myself don't mind being around it.
I did notice that the packaging said something about it not being a
"smoking cessation product". Which is not really true, since he no
longer smokes (though he does still need the nicotine).
|9.22.09 @ 8:28PM|#
I'm from Norway and here snus is swallowing the old cigarette marked. This is a result of cigarettes getting unpopular plus a smoking ban. Don't get me wrong; I hate the smoking ban, but I'm illustrating that snus can easily replace cigarettes as the tobacco of choice if it's just let into the marked. Don't let the federal governement do the same to snus as it did to electric cigarettes.
|9.22.09 @ 8:32PM|#
I thought that e-cigarettes were illegal in the US as it is here, but if Bluebooks tale is true I'll recant it. Instead: Don't let tem do to snus what they are doing to cannabis
GILMORE|9.22.09 @ 8:37PM|#
A link to the Swedish study that showed that snus helped
accelerate quitters into finally quitting might be germane
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2564662
However, there was also a later study by some other group
(Karolinska Institutet) makes connections between increased heart
disease (or continued?) risk for snus users.
Neither here nor there. Me personally, I've never enjoyed any forms
of 'oral' tobacco much. (e.g. dip, chaw, etc) Cigars I do like
occasionally.
BlueBook|9.22.09 @ 8:42PM|#
According to Wikipedia, e-cigs are legal in the U.S., but the FDA has begun an "investigation", whatever that means, and has interfered with some imports.
|9.22.09 @ 8:43PM|#
You all don't get it. It's not about tobacco, health or any of that. It's about pushing people around. The Puritans didn't oppose bear-baiting because it tormented an animal, they opposed it because people got pleasure from it.
SIV|9.22.09 @ 8:50PM|#
The Puritans didn't oppose bear-baiting because it tormented
an animal, they opposed it because people got pleasure from
it.
Excellent analogy;)
Although I think many "get it".
|9.22.09 @ 8:54PM|#
Let us not forget that there are too many people out there who
actually believe that smoking WILL CAUSE CANCER.
When was the last time you heard a public health parasite actually
tell the whole truth-namely, that there is absolutely no evidence
to support the proposition that smoking will cause cancer for all
smokers.
|9.22.09 @ 8:55PM|#
I did notice that the packaging said something about it not being a "smoking cessation product". Which is not really true, since he no longer smokes (though he does still need the nicotine).
The FDA makes it illegal to call it a "smoking cessation
product."
The Puritans didn't oppose bear-baiting because it tormented an animal, they opposed it because people got pleasure from it.
A myth, but nice sentiment. Kind of like the myth that
Puritans opposed alcohol. It's an insult to Puritans to compare
these people to Puritans.
|9.22.09 @ 8:56PM|#
Smoking does cause cancer. That doesn't mean that everybody gets
it, but it massively raises your chance of cancer.
The evidence for secondhand smoke is, to put it generously, much
weaker.
|9.22.09 @ 9:05PM|#
A show of hands, please.
How many smokers here started the smoking habit unaware of the
associated dangers?
How many people here think smokeless tobacco is without risk?
Hoew many here are unable to look up the numbers relating to
smokeless tobacco health risks?
Thought so. Government, STFU.
Tricky Prickears|9.22.09 @ 9:25PM|#
Link to buy esmokes:
http://www.esmokes.com/default.aspx?affiliateID=10050
Tricky Prickears|9.22.09 @ 9:27PM|#
There's a camel, nose, tent joke here somewhere.
Camel's ANUS in the tent?
Rhywun|9.22.09 @ 9:31PM|#
According to Wikipedia, e-cigs are legal in the U.S., but the FDA has begun an "investigation", whatever that means, and has interfered with some imports.
Reminds me of when that prick Spitzer stole my cigarettes mailed to
me from Switzerland. The nebulous legality doesn't mean shit when
you've got some little state-level fascist ready and willing to
take the law into his own hands "for your own protection".
My prediction is that e-cigs will be banned--until Philip Morris
decides it wants to market them and suddenly they will be
un-banned.
Rhywun|9.22.09 @ 9:34PM|#
PS. I shouldn't need to add that what this is really all about is tax receipts, right?
hmm|9.22.09 @ 9:36PM|#
I'm not sure PM would even bother. Their split is serving them well. PM is raking in overseas profit from tobacco products while Altria sits in the US poised to take the brunt of the US law suits.
dillwheed|9.22.09 @ 10:05PM|#
The Camel snus products are expensive and taste pretty bad (waaay too sweet). They'll do in a pinch, but Copenhagen and Kodiak (if you like sweet) taste better and are a better value. You can get real Swedish snus from various sites on the internet for less than the price of Kodiak, Camel, or Copenhagen. The Swedish stuff isn't sweetened, aged, and otherwise processed like the American stuff. Skruf and Oden in their loose (lös) forms are fantastic in terms of flavor, nicotine content, and mouth feel. The mouth feel is significantly different from either Kodiak's wonderous sugared mulch or Copenhagen's burrish coffee grounds, but pleasant and earthy. Swedish snus lightly-flavored with cinnamon, citrus, or bergamot goes great with espresso.
Tricky Prickears|9.22.09 @ 10:11PM|#
Reminds me of when that prick Spitzer stole my cigarettes
mailed to me from Switzerland.
C'mon, you were trying to evade taxes. That's illegal whether you
agree with the tax or not. It's like if your trying to buy from an
out of state Indian reservation.
http://www.buydiscountcigarettes.com/default.asp
I live in NJ. If I go to Delaware or N Carolina, I am legally
allowed to bring back 3 cartons (I think). Any more than that, I am
liable for the state taxes.
Tricky Prickears|9.22.09 @ 10:14PM|#
Altria sits in the US poised to take the brunt of the US law
suits.
They dumped Kraft, didn't they?
hmm|9.22.09 @ 10:21PM|#
I look forward to the 20 something club chickies chewing Redman
or Levi Garrett or better yet gnawing a hunk off a plug of tobacco.
Does anyone even make plugs anymore?
Kraft was spun off sometime in O7' I think. Kraft has been gone
longer than PM international. Which was spun off in 08'
hmm|9.22.09 @ 10:23PM|#
Altria is the litigation expense bucket being sustained by smokeless tobacco. PM is the money maker closing in on 50% of profits. Foreign tobacco sales could be a higher percentage of profits as of late since the market overseas has grown.
|9.22.09 @ 10:24PM|#
The Camel snus products are expensive and taste pretty
bad
See?
The Camel anus products are expensive and taste pretty bad ...
diversityhire|9.22.09 @ 10:36PM|#
The Camel snus products are expensive and taste pretty bad
See?
The Camel anus products are expensive and taste pretty bad
...
The brown ones taste the best.
Robert|9.22.09 @ 11:35PM|#
I too read it as "camel anus" for a second, even after correctly reading the headline and knowing what the piece was about. It's irresistable.
|9.22.09 @ 11:43PM|#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCvkatCGNFY&feature=channel_page
says it all. :)
Juke Joint Johnny|9.23.09 @ 8:36AM|#
Henningfield worries that the way R.J. Reynolds is marketing
its snus packets-as a means for smokers to enjoy tobacco in
situations where they're not allowed to light up-could be "harm
increasing if people delay quitting because of them."
Uh, so?
Oh, and hey, FDA; thanks a lot, you worthless scumbags. I'm so
thrilled that I can't enjoy the occasional Top Wildfire Strawberry
flavored cigarette now. Yeah, I know, you're my Daddy and you're
watching out for me because you feel, like Steven Chu, that the
we're too stupid and lazy, but sorry -- when I see an asshat I
gotta make the call. Asshats.
|9.23.09 @ 9:10AM|#
All the camel/anus banter reminds me of the joke that was going
around when i was a kid.
Smoke Camel, the only cigarette with a picture of the factory on the package.
|9.23.09 @ 9:46AM|#
Skruf and Oden in their loose (lös) forms are fantastic in
terms of flavor, nicotine content, and mouth feel.
Personally, I'm a Jacobsson's and Gotlandssnus guy.
|9.23.09 @ 10:08AM|#
I've had an opportunity to try them both, and I found that camels don't taste nearly as good as zebras.
|9.23.09 @ 10:31AM|#
Advantage of Snus compared to Cigarettes: The users don't smell
so bad.
Disadvantage of Snus compared to Cigarettes: The users are really
really disgusting litterbugs that toss their used snus doses on
walls, ceilings, signs, ATMs, or really any kind of surface where
it tend to stick, or affix it under tables and chairs in class
rooms, restaurants, trains, etc etc
It's like a saloon without a spitoon...
Rhywun|9.23.09 @ 8:28PM|#
C'mon, you were trying to evade taxes. That's illegal whether you agree with the tax or not.
Only if I don't declare the taxes on April 15 :/
Otherwise, stay the fuck out of my mail.
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