Kanas City Star:
November 15, 2007
Snus safer than smoking
Regarding “Nothing to snuff at; If you think Snus is a safe alternative to smoking, think again” (11/1, TeenStar): What was ignored in this article is that no tobacco can legally be sold to minors. If kids have access to smokeless tobacco, then they will have access to cigarettes. So nothing is gained by keeping smokeless tobacco off the market.
If kids do use tobacco (and some will), better that they use smokeless products, which are 99 percent less harmful than smoking. And if they end up as continuing nicotine users, better that they have this healthier alternative to turn to.
There is evidence that smokeless tobacco users are more likely to quit nicotine entirely. So the student in the article, and other smokers who switch to smokeless tobacco, are both more likely to quit and less likely to get sick. This was actually a “good news” article.
By the way, Snus was never popular throughout Europe. It was popular in Sweden. And Sweden is the only country in the developed world that has gotten smoking levels below 20 percent. It also has the lowest lung and oral cancer rates.
If the European Union wanted to safeguard public health, it should have banned cigarettes, not Snus.
Paul L. Bergen
Research associate, University of Alberta School of Public Health
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Editor’s note: Bergen’s area of research is harm reduction, with a special emphasis on the harm done by tobacco.
November 15, 2007
Snus safer than smoking
Regarding “Nothing to snuff at; If you think Snus is a safe alternative to smoking, think again” (11/1, TeenStar): What was ignored in this article is that no tobacco can legally be sold to minors. If kids have access to smokeless tobacco, then they will have access to cigarettes. So nothing is gained by keeping smokeless tobacco off the market.
If kids do use tobacco (and some will), better that they use smokeless products, which are 99 percent less harmful than smoking. And if they end up as continuing nicotine users, better that they have this healthier alternative to turn to.
There is evidence that smokeless tobacco users are more likely to quit nicotine entirely. So the student in the article, and other smokers who switch to smokeless tobacco, are both more likely to quit and less likely to get sick. This was actually a “good news” article.
By the way, Snus was never popular throughout Europe. It was popular in Sweden. And Sweden is the only country in the developed world that has gotten smoking levels below 20 percent. It also has the lowest lung and oral cancer rates.
If the European Union wanted to safeguard public health, it should have banned cigarettes, not Snus.
Paul L. Bergen
Research associate, University of Alberta School of Public Health
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Editor’s note: Bergen’s area of research is harm reduction, with a special emphasis on the harm done by tobacco.
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