FlavouredTobacco

Inrecentyears,tobaccomanufacturershavefloodedthe marketwithfruit,alcoholandevencandyflavouredcigars andsmokelesstobaccoproducts.Whiletheuseof additivestoimproveflavourandodourisnotnewtothe tobaccoindustry,thebrazenmarketingofchocolate, bubblegum,vanilla,bananasplit,mintandotherflavours thatareattractivetoyouthisunprecedented.Flavoured tobaccoproductsappearevenmorekidfriendlyand amusingasmanufacturerscoordinatethepackagingto theflavour. Internaltobaccoindustrydocumentsclearlyrevealwhy thecompaniesaredoingthis.Theseadditivesare: Designedtomakethefirstsmokingexperiencemore pleasurablebyimprovingthetasteandsensationsfor smokersandchewers Designedtoencourageexperimentation Designedtomakesmokingeasierbymaskingthe irritationonairways,preventingairwaysfrom tighteningandpreventingthesmokerfromcoughing (coughingisthebodyswayofprotectinglungsfrom inhalingharmfulsubstances). Designedtomakesmokingtrendyanddynamic Designedtodisguisethesmellofsecondhand smoke,andreduceconcernsandcomplaintsfrom nonsmokersnearsmokers

HowtheIndustryBaitsitsPrey
Tobacco Productsin Canadaare flavoured with:
Appletini BananaSplit Blueberry BubbleGum Cherry ChocolateMint Cinnamon Clove Coconut Cosmo CottonCandy Grape Mango Menthol Mint OrangeLiqueur Peach PeanutButter andJam PinaColada Raspberry Rum Spearmint Strawberry Tangerine Tequila Vanilla Wildberry Wintergreen Watermelon Whisky

Designedtomakethefirstsmoking experiencemorepleasurable
Flavouringsreducetheunpleasantsmellandtasteoftheir products.AformerPhilipMorrisemployeeexplainedthe harshnessandbitternessofnicotineisnotacceptable aloneinacigarette.Thereisstrongscientificevidenceto supportboththeneedfornicotineintheproductsand theneedtomodifyitsflavortomakeitsdelivery acceptabletothesmoker.1 Theadditionofflavouringagentstotobaccoproducts makesthesmokingexperiencebetterespeciallyfor newsmokers.AnRJRTobaccoexecutivesaw chocolate/vanillin/licorice/tobaccoenhancersasan excitingdevelopmentwhichappearstohaveand consumption,especiallyamongyoungpeople.2,3

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada

1226AWellingtonStreetOttawaOntarioK1Y3A1 Tel:6132334878Fax:6132337797www.smokefree.capsc@smokefree.ca

D Designe edtoen ncourag geexperimenta ation.

To obaccocompanieshaveprev viouslyacknow wledgedthatfla avours gr rabtheinteres stofpotentialsmokers s andmake m themmorelikely to owanttoexperimentwithsm moking.Inanin nternalindustr ry pr resentation,th huswascakedahighcuriositytotryfactor r. 4 Flavouringsmak ketobaccopro oductsseemles ssthreateningand le essharmfuland dmorefunand d in nteresting.Asaresult,young pe eoplewhomay ynevereventry sm mokingcigarettescanbe en nticedbytastemenew fla avoursandtrialfriendlypa ackaging. In nCanada,thepopularity p ofsm mallcigarspreviouslyonlyav vailable in nrumorsweetwineflavourshassoaredsin ncecherry,field be erries,vanilla,mint,chocolat te,roastedhon neyandother am musingflavour rshavebeenin ntroduced. Th hisapproachhasbeensosuc ccessfulthat Onethirdof o Canadianyo outhhastriedthese t products s(andonetenthare recentuser rs).5 Therehasbeen b aneightfo oldincreasein nsalesinonly6years. SalesinCan nadajumpedfr rom53millionunitsin2001to276millionunitsin 2006,andtoawhopping403millionin2007.6

PhilipMorris s,1992No.Bate es2048207530

D Designe edtoma akesmokingeasier e

So omeadditivesreducethedis scomfortofsm moking.Asares sult,theystopsmokers fromfeelingthe eearlywarning gsymptomsofrespiratorydis seaseandupper airwaysirritation. Mentholcigaret M ttesandKretek ks(cloveflavor redcigarettes,largelyimport tedfrom In ndonesia)areeasier e tosmoke ebecausethebothmentholandeugenol(t the ac ctiveingredien ntincloves)are etopicalanesthetics. Sm mokersofthes seproductscan nexperiencele essthroatandupperairwayirritation w which couldoth herwiseleadth hemtostopsm moking.7Cigare ettesmadewiththese in ngredientsmak keiteasierfornewsmokersto t continuesm mokingandtoabsorb a th henicotinethatleadstoaddi iction. Mentholschara M acteristicminty ytasteandsmellluressomesmokerstothink th heseproductsare a differentor o lessharmfulthanothercig garettes.Howe ever, st tudieshavenot tshownmenth holsmokersto oexperiencefe ewerwithdraw wal sy ymptomsorbe etterquittingra ates.8 Co ocoabasedflav vouringsarealsoaddedtoso ometypesofcigarettes. c These ad dditivescausethesmokersairways a todilat te,allowingthesmokeanea asierand de eeperpassageintothelungsandgreaterin ntakeofnicotin ne.9

Flav voured c cigarette esare, w without doubt, d asectorofthe tob baccopr roduct m market thatis ngand growin w contin will nueto grow.
TobaccoJournal J Intern national10

Ju une2009

Designedtomakesmokingtrendyanddynamic
Althoughmentholhasbeenaddedtocigarettesfor decades,thewaymentholcigarettesaredesignedand marketedhaschangeddramaticallyinrecentyears. Recenttrendsinmarketingmentholinclude: Newbrands Newcigarettedesigns Newpackaging

Twoofthemultinationaltobaccocompaniesoperatingin Canada(BATandJTI)haverecentlylaunchedmenthol cigaretteswithanoveltydesignfeaturelikelyto encourageexperimentation.(Thefiltercontainsa mentholcapsulethat,whencrushed,releasesasudden surgeofflavouring).Smokingismademoredynamicby theinvitationtoSqueeze,Click,Change. Thisnewgenerationofmentholproductsaresuccessfulat recruitingsmokers.Tradeanalystsreportthatwhilesales oftraditionalcigarettesarefalling,themarketfor mentholcigaretteisnotdecliningasrapidly.11,12While onlyonementholcigarettebrandrankedamongthe10 toppremiumbrandsin2005,threementholcigarette brandsmadethelistin2008.13 Justasdemandforcigarillosincreasedwhen manufacturersbeganofferingawidearrayofflavoured littlecigarsandtobaccorollingpapers(blunts),Canadians

shouldexpectthementholmarkettoexpandas manufacturersputmoreenergyanddollarstostimulate growthandboostsalesofmentholproducts,astheyhave doneintheUS. InCanada,themarketshareformentholcigarettesis considerablysmallerthanitisintheUnitedStates,where tobaccocompanieshaveaggressivelymarketedmenthol cigarettestoBlackAmericans.ThemarketshareinCanada (at2%)14isnowmuchlowerthanintheUnitedStates(at 27%15).Ifwhenthenewgenerationofmenthol productsareintroducedinCanada,thismaychange.

Designedtodisguisethesmellofsecondhandsmoke.
Withthepublicbetterinformedondangersof secondhandsmoke,smokersfacegreatersocialpressures toquitsmoking. Manufacturersareeagertoprovidesmokerswith alternativestoquitting,suchascigarettesthatsmellless. Manufacturersoffersmokerswithcleanerandless problematicsmokesthankstotheirLSS(LessSmoke Smell)technology. Thesecigarettesuseflavouringslikevanillatomaskthe scent.Althoughthesmellandvisibilityofthetobacco smokemaybelessdistasteful,itisjustasharmful. Reducingthesmellofsecondhandsmokemayreduce complaintsfromnonsmokers,andmakesmokingless sociallyundesirable.Nonsmokersmayalsobelesslikely toremovethemselvesfromthepresence(andharms)of thesecondhandsmoke.
Mirage,acigarettebrandmarketedasproducinglessofasmoke smell.LaunchedinCanadainDecember2007byJTIMacdonald.

June2009

Notjustforsmokers
Smokelesstobaccoisalsomixedwithflavourslikelyto increasetrial,experimentationandeventualaddiction.
Since2005,aroundthetimecandyflavouredchewappearedin Canada,chewusebeganincreasing,reversinga17yeardecline datingbackto1998.1615to19yearoldsrepresentonequarterofall smokelesstobaccousers,eventhoughtheyarelessthan7%ofthe population.17 In2006,theNationalSmokelessTobaccoCompanyannouncedthat7 ofthetop10bestsellingsmokelessproductswereflavouredand boastedthattheirbusinesshadgrownthankstonewflavoursand pouchedoraltobacco.18

Recentpublicmeasurestostopthesaleof candycoatedtobaccoproducts
Inrecentyears,severalgovernmentshaveintroduced measurestocurbtheuseofflavouringsintobacco products. Australia Thesaleofmostconfectionaryflavoured,confectionary scentedandfruitflavouredorfruitscentedcigarettesis bannedinACT,19NSW20andSouthAustralia21.Tasmania hasgonefurtherbyextendingthebantoalltobacco productsandrollingpapers.22Tobaccoproductsflavoured withmenthol,nutandseedflavouringagents(coffee, pepper,etc.)remainlegal. UnitedStates ThestateofMainebanstheimportandsaleofcigarettes andcigarsthatcontainaconstituentthatimpartsa characterizingflavor,meaningadistinguishabletasteor aromathatisimpartedtotobaccoortobaccosmoke eitherpriortoorduringconsumption,otherthanataste oraromafromtobacco,menthol,clovecoffee,nutsor peppers,exceptforthosethatwereonthemarketprior to1985.23Somementholatedandflavouredcigarettes andcigarsremainlegal. Undera2006agreementwithAttorneyGeneralsfrom fortystates,ReynoldsTobaccoagreedtostopsellingsome brandsofflavouredcigarettes,andtoabstainfrom naming,marketingorevokingcandy,fruitandalcohol flavoredcigarettesinthefuture.24Theagreement exemptsallmentholflavouredproducts.Moreover,the billthatwouldtheUnitedStatesFoodandDrug Administration(FDA)toregulatetobacco,wouldban flavouredcigarettes,butexemptsmenthol.25 Canada OntariobecamethefirstCanadianjurisdictiontoban flavouredcigarillos,anditslegislationhasthepowerto banothercategoryofflavouredtoproducts.26AsofMay 26,2009,thislawhadnotbeenputintoforce. BackbenchlegislatorsinNovaScotia27andthefederal HouseofCommons28havetabledlegislationthatwould bantheadditiontotobaccoproductsofanyflavouring additiveotherthantobaccoandsugar. OnMay262009,CanadasHealthMinistertabledBillC 32,29whichwouldbanflavouredcigarillos,cigarettesand blunts(tobaccorollingpapers),butexemptmentholasan additive.Thebanonflavouringsdoesnotextendto kreteks(clovecigarettes)orchewingtobacco,even thoughtheseproductsarealsosuccessfullytargeting youth.30

June2009

References

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22 TasmaniaGovernment,PUBLICHEALTHACT1997Chapter4SECT68A. www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/tas/consol_act/pha1997126/s68a.html 23 MaineStateLegislature,2008.LD1361:AnActConcerningCertainFlavoredCigarettesandFlavoredCigarsandHard Snuff,June2007.www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_123rd/chappdfs/PUBLIC467.pdf 24 NewYorkStateAttorneyGeneralAndrewM.Cuomo,2006.AttorneysgeneralandR.J.Reynoldsreachhistoricsettlement toendthesaleofflavoredcigarettes.Pressrelease,October2006.www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2006/oct/oct11a_06.html 25 WaxmanHA,2009.UnitedSates.HouseofRepresentatives1256:theFamilySmokingPreventionandTobaccoControl Act.(April2ndversion)http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090304/hr1256.pdf 26 OntarioLegislature,2008.SmokeFreeOntarioAmendmentAct(Cigarillos),2008(Bill124).December12,2008. http://www.elaws.gov.on.ca/html/source/statutes/english/2008/elaws_src_s08026_e.htm 27 NovaScotiaNDPCaucus,2008.MasseyIntroducesLegislationBanningSaleOfCigarillos.May7,2008. www.ndpcaucus.ns.ca/news.asp?ID=3938etwww.gov.ns.ca/legislature/legc/bills/60th_2nd/1st_read/b159.htm 28 GlobeandMail,2008.Teensturningontoflavouredcigarillos.June24,2008. www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080624.wlsmoke24/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home 29 HouseofCommonsofCanada,2009.BILLC32:AnActtoamendtheTobaccoAct,May26,2009. www2.parl.gc.ca/content/hoc/Bills/402/Government/C32/C32_1/C32_1.PDF 30 PhysiciansforaSmokeFreeCanada.Factsheet.SmokelessTobacco:Candycoatingcarcinogens.

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