Published on December 16, 2008
There are smokeless tobacco products which worry experts. One of these tobacco products is Camel Snus. Snus is a moist powder tobacco product that is consumed by placing it under the upper lip for extended periods of time. It is a form of snuff that is used in a manner similar to American dipping tobacco, but typically does not result in the need for spitting.
Snus is also unique in that it is steam-cured rather than fire-cured, is not fermented and contains no added sugar. Each single-serve pouch can contain as much as eight milligrams of nicotine. Snus is manufactured and consumed primarily in Sweden and Norway, and is being test-marketed in several other countries. Snus can be used anywhere, at a concert, right in front of security guards, or at an overpriced tapas restaurant, because snus doesn’t affect other people who don’t use it. It is available in three flavors which are packaged in attractive tins.
According to some researchers, Snus may turn out to be both carcinogenic and highly addictive. In a recent study was shown that chewing tobacco regularly increases the risk of developing oral cancers and pancreatic cancer, as well. In 1992 after a World Health Organization study determined that the smokeless tobacco product can cause cancer that’s why the European Union banned sales of an earlier formulation of Snus. But Snus continues to be sold in Sweden and Norway.
Health officials in West Virginia analyzed a version of Snus marketed earlier and found it contained five milligrams of nicotine per gram of tobacco, or about two milligrams per pouch serving, said Robert Anderson, deputy director of the prevention research center at West Virginia University. He added that since then, the amount of tobacco and the concentration of nicotine in each pouch appear to have increased.
Snus as cigarettes can attract teenagers in using it. That’s why researchers proposed to introduce new legislations, for example as indoor smoking ban, or anti-tobacco advertisements.
