A research study and editorial published today in the journal Pediatrics suggests that R.J. Reynolds Camel Orbs and similar dissolvable tobacco products will appeal to young children because they resemble candy. The study s lead researcher, Dr. Gregory Connolly of the Harvard School of Public Health, tells the New York Times, Nicotine is a highly addictive drug, and to make it look like a piece of candy is recklessly playing with the health of children.
Of course Dr. Greg Connolly thinks that this product will be dangerous for children, says ACSH s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. He is consistently against harm reduction -- i.e., using tobacco products or clean nicotine to help addicted smokers quit cigarettes -- which is exactly what this product provides. Camel Orbs are meant for adult, addicted cigarette smokers who want to quit but still crave nicotine, and they re on the long menu of harm reduction products that we ve discussed over the years. Because of the FDA tobacco law, Reynolds is not allowed to market them for harm reduction, but they are still far less dangerous than cigarettes, and could help addicted smokers quit. As for the question of whether they would attract children, I think that s a stretch.
This study was about accidental swallowing, says ACSH s Jeff Stier. You can't get addicted from an occasional, accidental exposure. If Dr. Connolly had his way, less harmful forms of tobacco would be banned, and the only tobacco product that would be allowed by the FDA would be cigarettes, the most deadly of all.
Even if kids are attracted to them, that s not a good enough reason to ban them completely, says ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross. If that was the case, then many consumer products and most pharmaceuticals would be banned, since any fourteen-year-old could just go to the medicine cabinet and grab some. The difference between these dissolvable tobacco products and currently approved cessation products like patches and gum is that the dissolvable tobacco has more nicotine. Addicted smokers require a significant dose of nicotine to be satisfied, which is why the patches and gums have miserably low success rates. Dr. Connolly, like all anti-tobacco advocates with fundamentalist approaches against harm reduction, is basically sticking to his mantra of quit or die.