Clearing up TSNA confusion

[KarlvB]

Hi Joakim & Markus

I was wondering if you would be able to provide us with the TSNA levels for all the major SM brands (General, Ettan, Grov, RL, GR, N&J)?

This topic has been discussed quite a bit here on the forum

http://www.snuson.com/viewtopic.php?t=2998

As you can see there appears to be a lot of conflicting information on the internet.

One of the most widely referred to studies puts the average TSNA levels at between 2.0 and 2.2

http://cro.sagepub.com/cgi/content/full/15/5/252/T2

However I found an information which contradicts this and shows that the total TSNA levels are in fact much lower. This document for example puts the average TSNA level for SM products at 1.0

http://www.slv.se/upload/dokument/Ra...enskt_snus.pdf

However this article says its even lower than that

http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=867&a=230633

If you look at the graphic its shows that General has the 2nd lowest levels of TSNAs of the widely used brands.

http://www.gp.se/gp/road/Classic/sha...?d=10&a=230633

Gustavus 621 µg/kg
General 623 µg/kg
Skruf 667 µg/kg
Granit 887 µg/kg

Is this correct. What research has SM done in this area?

Also, it appears that the TSNA levels have continually dropped over the last 5-8 years. Has this been the result of improved production methods?

Thanks

Karl

[Markus and Joakim]

Hi Karl,

GothiaTek is a voluntary industrial standard introduced by SM in 2000. Since there is no official regulation of TSNA levels in any tobacco product in any country at the moment, there is no continuous, "independent" monitoring of these levels and companies are not required to report TSNA levels to any regulatory body. However, all manufacturers of "Swedish-type snus" has accepted GothiaTek and, as far as we know, comply with the limits mentioned in GothiaTek. There is no internationally accepted, standardized method to measure TSNAs which may obscure comparísons over time and between different labs using different methods.

The GothiaTek limit for TSNA relate to dry weight, which should be distinguished from wet weight figures which are lower. For instance, in a snus brand with a 50% moisture content, the dry weight figure is double that of the wet weight figure.

TSNA levels in tobacco products are determined by several factors: the content in the raw tobacco is obviously very important and great care must be taken about how the tobacco is grown. Excessive use of fertilizers, for instance, may lead to unacceptably high levels. Great care must also be taken during the production process to maintain low levels. As Swedish snus is heat-treated there is no microbial activity in the finished product when it leaves the factory. This means that TSNA levels in snus cans do not increase during the product's shelf-life which is in contrast to many other smokefree products that are not heat-treated.

As a result of a continuous work over many years TSNA levels in SM snus products have decreased over several decades. They are now well below the limit set by GothiaTek, typically < 1 ppm (wet weight). The level is comparable between the different SM brands but may vary somewhat over time due to variations in the raw tobacco used.

It is of course desirable to achieve the lowest possible content of TSNAs in snus. However, it should be pointed out that the epidemiological documentation of health effects associated with snus use concerns exposure to the type of snus that was available many years ago when the TSNA content was substantially higher than today. These epidemiological studies typically have failed to demonstrate any adverse health effects in terms of cancer or cardiovascular disease. The 10 to 20-fold decrease in TSNA content that we have achieved during recent decades should therefore have introduced an extra "margin of safety". The small variations observed today between different brands or manufacturers are probably of minor importance. It is possible that much of the observed variation has more to do with measurement errors rather than true differences in TSNA content.

Against this background, it should be pointed out that the the "harm reduction potential" of a particular snus product probably is not determined by slight differences in TSNA levels, but rather the extent to which it can replace smoked products among smokers who try to quit.

BR,

M&J

[KarlvB]

Thank you for that comprehensive answer

[Markus and Joakim]

Very welcome Karl!

Take care and have a great summer,
/M&J