Snus or nicotine pouches? The industry confuses the issue

Several articles published in the French press in recent days have raised alarm about the presence of videos praising "snus" on social networks. This is in fact a campaign to promote Lyft, a similar but slightly different product.

The resemblance between snus and nicotine pouches can lead to some confusion, especially since they are distinct from chewing tobacco, which has now fallen into disuse.1].

Products similar in their presentation and mode of consumption

Snus, designed and marketed in Sweden, consists of a sachet of moist tobacco to suck, sold in a wide range of flavors. This type of product, banned in the rest of the European Union since 1992[2], is nevertheless marketed on several other continents (in the United States by RJ Reynolds, under the Camel brand, and by Altria, under the Marlboro brand). Asia is currently the largest consuming continent (82%)[3], followed by Africa.

Nicotine lozenges do not contain tobacco, but a white powder containing nicotine. Marketed under the brands Lyft (British American Tobacco/BAT), but also Zyn, On! and Velo, these products are also available in a wide range of flavours. Manufacturers present these products as "snus", which does not make it easy to distinguish them. Nicotine pouches deliberately have the appearance of snus to maintain confusion between the two products and to overturn the current ban on snus in the EU. However, the tobacco industry, in its marketing campaigns, presents its nicotine pouches as tobacco-free and risk-free alternatives

The similarity between these two products is not only physical (small sachets, of variable presentation) but also in the mode of consumption: the sachets are placed between the lip and the gum, and activated by saliva. Another common characteristic is to deliver more nicotine (6 mg of nicotine/sachet of Zyn[4]) than a classic cigarette (1 to 3 mg), which can lead to addiction more quickly.

The toxicity of these products is still debated. Although, with the exception of Skoal Bandits, most snus are free of nitrosamines, they are likely to cause pancreatic cancer, type II diabetes, heart attacks, hypertension and premature births.5]. The consequences of their use are also observed from a dental point of view, by promoting the receding of the gums and the loss of teeth. Finally, nicotine is a well-known source of severe dependence and its effects on the development of the adolescent brain are well documented.

Clearly addictive products

With nicotine or tobacco pouches, the tobacco industry continues its argument about reduced risks: smokeless tobacco products are, according to manufacturers, designed for smokers who wish to stop smoking or reduce their consumption. "We target smokers", Pascal Marbois, communications director of BAT France, recently declared on this subject[1].

The focus on the reduced risks compared to smoking cigarettes, however, minimizes the addictiveness of lozenges. Several testimonies have indicated that young non-smokers have become addicted by using nicotine lozenges, confirming the health warning on the packaging.6]. Although less immediate than with smoked tobacco, the mode of action of nicotine pouches, in high doses, is similar: nicotine absorption is rapid when it occurs through the respiratory or oral route, and this speed of absorption is precisely one of the main factors in the development of nicotine addiction[7]. This is one of the major points that distinguishes lozenges from slower-release nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), which are designed to be weaning aids.

As with e-cigarettes, lozenges are a vehicle through which non-smoking adolescents are introduced to nicotine and risk becoming addicted to it.8The goal remains to expand the nicotine addiction market by enrolling as many customers as possible from a very young age.

Flavors to attract teenagers

Manufacturers claim to only target adults, but they flood social media sites that are popular with teenagers (TikTok and Snapchat here) with ads for these products, using communication codes specific to young people. Teenagers are thus expressly targeted by manufacturers, who attract them to these products using aromas whose flavors are reminiscent of those of sweet treats.

Tobacco or nicotine pouches are not yet subject to the same restrictions as tobacco or e-cigarettes in most countries. These products have thus escaped the restrictions on flavors that have been enacted for e-cigarettes (January 2020 in the United States) and smoked tobacco (menthol ban in April 2021 in the United States[9], 12 years after other flavours). This persistence of the supply of flavoured products has encouraged many young people to switch to lozenges, the search for flavours being one of the main reasons for experimentation put forward by adolescents questioned on this subject[10]. The range of tobacco-free nicotine products also makes it possible to bypass the advertising ban that affects other tobacco products.

A transgressive industry

The tobacco industry constantly invites transgression: as with electronic cigarettes when they first appeared, the main selling point of lozenges is that they can be consumed "where you can't smoke". It is therefore implicitly a question, under the guise of compensating for the lack of nicotine, of circumventing the bans on smoking and vaping in force[11],[12The illegal sale of these products in France via the Internet is also a way of getting around the ban on snus in Europe, which has been fought against by the tobacco industry since 2006.

The tobacco industry creates confusion in the minds of consumers and journalists alike between products, as it does between e-cigarettes and heated/toasted tobacco devices. It is currently trying to appear as a nicotine industry by promoting smokeless nicotine products, but refuses to consider a "tobacco-free" world.

Keywords: Snus, Nicotine Pouches, Lyft, Tobacco Industry, Marketing, Snuff ©Tobacco Free Generation

M.F.

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[1] Ducrocq M, Le Parisien, Snuff: banned in France, snus appeals to young people. Published on June 12, 2021, accessed on June 22, 2021. [2] European Economic Community, Council Directive 92/41/EEC of 15 May 1992 amending Directive 89/622/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the labelling of tobacco products. [3] Mehrotra R, Yadav A, Sinha DN, et al. Smokeless tobacco control in 180 countries across the globe: call to action for full implementation of WHO FCTC measures. Lancet Oncol. 2019;20(4):e208–e217. [4] Truth Initiative, What is Zyn and what are oral nicotine pouches? Published on February 9, 2021, accessed on June 22, 2021. [5] Tobacco Tactics, Snus. Published June 15, 2021, accessed June 22, 2021. [6] Simon M, Free Midi, Tobacco: what is snus, banned in France but popular with young people? Published June 13, 2021, accessed June 22, 2021. [7] Foulds, J. et al. (2003). Effect of smokeless tobacco (snus) on smoking and public health in Sweden. Tobacco Control 12 (4): 349-359. [8] Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER), Opinion on electronic cigarettes. Published April 16, 2021, accessed June 22, 2021. [9] US Food & Drug Administration, FDA Commits to Evidence-Based Actions Aimed at Saving Lives and Preventing Future Generations of Smokers. Published on April 29, 2021, consulted on June 22, 2021. [10] Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIR), Tobacco additives. Published in 2010, consulted on June 22, 2021. [11] Génération Sans Tabac, The Tobacco Industry's Selling Points for Its Nicotine Pouches. Published on May 10, 2021, accessed on June 22, 2021. [12] Génération Sans Tabac, RJ Reynolds' Marketing Strategies to Promote Snus in the United States, February 17, 2021, accessed June 22, 2021 National Committee Against Smoking |