University Daily Kansan / Thursday, October 6; 1988
Health
11
THE
SMOKE LESS CIGARETTE
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., is test-marketing a smokeless cigarette but is making no claims of increased safety in smoking.
By Cindy Harger Kansan staff writer
Imagine a cigarette that doesn't give off a stream of smoke and doesn't require an ashtray.
A major tobacco company did just that, with the recent development of a "smokeless" cigarette called Premier.
"The chance of heart disease is no less hazardous than a formal diagnosis, so the Institute, director of the Institute for the Study of Smoking Behavior and Policy at UC Davis, should accept it."
Premium cigarettes, which are test-marketed this month in Tampa Bay, are now been deemed by the manufacturers as a "cleaner smoke." However, some anti-smoking organizations are arguing that they should develop the image of being healthier than the average cigarette, even if there is no publicized proof that it is.
The Premier cigarettes, developed by F.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., take advantage of the tobacco is heated instead of burned so there is little external smoke and carbon dioxide.
The end of the cigarette contains a carbon element, which is like charcoal. It is lit by holding a flame to the end just a little bit longer than when lightning a traditional cigarette. When the user inhales, the heat passes through the smokeable where the smoker gets the taste of tobacco and a dose of nicotine.
The cigarette doesn't get any shorter. The smoker knows that it is
used up when he inhales and nothing happens.
R. J. Reynolds is marketing the robot as a breakthrough in technology, but his company pounds within the smoke. However, the company makes no claims about its safety.
"We're not saying this cigarette is safe or safe," Richard A Kampie, executive director of the Development Company, told the Washington Post. "We're making no claims."
Maurie Payne, spokesman for R.J. Reynolds, said the company would not move from Kansas to Kansas because a large number of its readers were under 21 years of age.
He said he didn't know exactly how dangerous the cigarettes were because RJ Reynolds hadn't been charged with it, but he knew there was a health risk.
Pimney said he was concerned because children or people who had quit smoking might assume there was no risk with the new cigarettes.
"We know there must be a lot of carbon monoxide because of the charcoal core and we know there is nicotine — no one would smoke it if it didn't have nicotine." Priney said. "I assume there is still tar but because it is tolkish we don't know what it does in the type of cigarette."
The principle cause of lung cancer is from the chemicals found in tar, he said.
Pinney said he had urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to
As it stands, the FDA is unable to regulate tobacco products unless health claims are made. Bill Griggs, director of press relations for the FDA, said R.J. Reynolds had health claims and Premier cigarette packages carried the same health warnings as regular cigarettes.
At the end of April, the Coalition on Smoking or Health, which is made up of the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association, and the American Heart Association, sent the FDA a legal petition asking that it stop the use of low-tar cigarettes and low-tar cigarettes. Giorgia said the
Gripp said the FDA notified R.J. Compass that the product at its own risk. The company will still be liable if the FDA decides to regulate it at any
coalition argued that the nicotine delivery system of these cigarettes inherently made it seem safer than regular cigarettes.
Advanced Tobacco Products Inc. based in San Antonio, fried unsuccessfully to market a smokeless tobacco product; the rette called Favor, did not contain any tobacco; users simply breathed in and received a dose of nicotine. The FDA ordered that it be removed from the market. The tobacco, nicotine was an unap-
proved drug
Premier cigarettes have received mixed reactions from people who have tried them.
Bernie Fishman, manager of J.R. Cigars in St. Louis, said that in the week and a half he has carried the cigar and the store had sold 39 to 53 packs a day.
"People are reacting for and against them. Most say they don't smell like a normal cigarette," Fishman said.
"People are still testing them. They are buying one or two packs at a time to see if they like it," the Fishman said. "They're novelty item. They
He said some people disliked the taste, but others came back to buy cases of Premier.
are unusual, so people are trying them."
J. R. Cigars is selling Premium cigarettes for $1.50 plus tax, while normal cigarettes sell for $1.25 plus tax.
Although the cigarettes are being sold in the test-market areas, experts still are not convinced of their safety
LARGE SCALES OF SHOPPING AND STORED
in the National Center for Disease
Control has not made a formal
review of Premier cigarettes, but
disapproves of the new cigarettes
and all smoking products.
"No smoking apparatus is safe, whether it is a cigarette, pipe, or whatever," said Tim Hensley. "The reason the Office of Smoking and Health."