Sweet Deception:Flavored Tobacco

A former tobacco industry sales representative revealed that “cherry Skoal is for somebody who likes the taste of candy, if you know what I’m saying.”1

Sweet Deception

BackgroundThe vast expansion of new flavored products can be attributed to:

• magazine advertising• free samples• outdoor ads• branded merchandise

2. The number of smoke-free spaces that limit where smoking can occur is an increasing trend worldwide. This encourages people to smoke less.

3. Smoking rates in the U.S. have declined significantly; social norms regarding smoking have shifted away from being an acceptable practice.

1. Advertising and marketing restrictions in the 1998 MSA decrease the number of opportunities to promote a product. 1998 MSA restrictions include:

Public Health Concerns

Flavors:• encourage the trial of unfamiliar products1

• are particularly appealing to youth1

• mask the harsh properties of tobacco2

• increase the acceptability of a toxic product2

Research estimates that every day, 3,900 children and teenagers start smoking and 1,000 become daily smokers.3

Appeal Flavors are a major driver of sales in the youth market1

• Youth want strong & intense flavors; they like products twice as sweet as adults

• Adults enjoy mild and natural flavors

Teens are twice as likely as adults to recall seeing flavored products or their advertising.2,3

Studies show that young smokers choose flavored products over cigarettes because they “taste better” and are perceived to be “safer.”3

UseIn 2004, 17-year old smokers were more than twice as likely as those over the age of 25 to smoke flavored cigarettes.

And they viewed flavored cigarettes as safer.1

“[Cherry Skoal] is a beginners product [that] helped me gradually go up the ladder.” – Travis, 16

“Cherry kind of prepared me to go all the way up, though I wasn’t planning on it preparing me.” – Brian, 14

“Cherry is like the kindergarten for Copenhagen…” – Marty, 152

Initiation & AddictionFlavors make it easier for youth to smoke successfully1

• Reduces, or masks the natural harshness and taste of tobacco

• Increases the acceptability of a toxic product

Flavors assist in the addiction process by enhancing the sensory rewards of smoking.2

Big Tobacco’s “graduation theory” for enticing new users (kids)3

• New users will begin with milder, more flavored products• Subsequently, a “natural progression of product switching

[occurs] to brands that are more fully bodied, less flavored, have more concentrated ‘tobacco taste’ than the entry brand.”Nearly 80% of adult smokers first become regular smokers

before the age of 18, and 90% do so before leaving their teens.4

Big TobaccoIn Their Own Words

"It's a well-known fact that teen-agers like sweet products. Honey might be considered.“3

“…the base of our business is the high school student.”3

Sweetened products are “…for younger people, beginner smokers, teenagers…when you feel like a smoke, you want to be reminded of bubblegum.”1,2

The FlavorsSmokeless Tobacco

The FlavorsHookah

The FlavorsCigars & Cigarillos

The FlavorsElectronic Cigarettes

Strawberry MentholVanilla ChocolateApple BananaPeach WatermelonGrape KiwiCaramelPineappleBlueberry

“If you are really and truly not going to sell to children, you are going to be out of business in 30 years.”

– Bennett LeBow, Chairman of Liggett Group

http://tobaccodocuments.org/youth/AmYoNON00000000.Lb.html

Sweet Shop Vs Smoke

Shop

Can your kids tell the

difference?

™ RJ Reynolds

Chewing Gum or Melt-Away Tobacco

Strips?

Tic Tacs or Tobacco Orbs?

™ RJ Reynolds ™ Ferrero

™ RJ Reynolds

™ Hershey

Breath Mints or Chewing Tobacco?

™ RJ Reynolds

Orange Stick or Tobacco Stick?

Package Design

Toxicity

Both licorice and cocoa, when burned, produce carcinogens.2

Some brands of smokeless tobacco contain 700% more wintergreen flavorant than candy. This exceeds the maximum acceptable daily intake established by the World Health Organization.1

Banning FlavorsFDA banned the sale of flavored cigarettes September 22, 2009. Currently the ban does not include smokeless tobacco or cigars, and exempts menthol.1 The new FDA law does NOT block states and localities from banning tobacco products or any different types of tobacco products, such as flavored tobacco.5

New York City banned the sale of ALL flavored tobacco products on October 28, 2009. The ban includes some exceptions.2

On July 1, 2009 Maine banned the sale of flavored cigarettes and cigars in the state.3

New Jersey banned the sale of flavored (exempting menthol and clove) cigarettes on October 1, 2008.4

There is no safe tobacco product. Tobacco prevention saves lives and money. Eliminating tobacco use prevents disease, unnecessary and expensive health care costs and loss of productivity. For evidence-based cessation assistance, tobacco users should be directed to see their health care provider and to call 1-888-567-TRUTH for free help quitting.