E500 makes snus more addictive says Prof Greg Conolly?! WTF.

[khalid]

Been reading up on additives in snus and found some flotsam and jetsam out there suggesting that E500 (Sodium bicarbonate) use increases the amount of 'free nicotine' in snus and makes it more addictive. Wondered if anyone knows anything about this? The trail seems to lead back to a guy called Professor Greg Connolly of the Harvard School of Public Health. There is no other source for this claim but it has got some play in the media.

[lxskllr]

He's right, but the wording is that of the typical anti tobacco zealot. Raising the ph of tobacco raises the nicotine absorption rate. You could either use more snus/cigarettes/snuff/chew... or whatever, or get more nicotine from less. It's the same as the scare tactics used by the anti drug zealots when they claim cannabis has more THC than it used to. Why does that matter?

[snusgetter]

”There is no secret substance in snus.”

~
Swedish Match under fire in secret snus substance investigation

Published: 25 Oct 09 11:51 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/22864/20091025/

Tobacco company Swedish Match has been accused of adding a substance to moist snuff or 'snus' to purposely increase user dependency and, in turn, boosts sales of their products.

Since 2005, the company has introduced eight new snus products with higher than average nicotine levels. The usual level for snus is eight milligrams per gram. In one product, levels have almost doubled that figure.

”Certain consumer groups have shown demand for a high nicotine content,” the company’s production director Torbjörn Åkeson explains.

Allegations that the company adds a substance, known as E500, to purposely increase the amount of so-called ‘free’ nicotine – which increases dependency – are presented in a new report by investigative news programme Kalla Fakta.

Swedish Match deny the use of the substance for such purposes.

”We use it to stabilise the pH value in snus and have done so for 200 years,” information director Henrik Brehmer told the programme.

”There is no secret substance in snus.”

Yet, Professor Greg Connolly at the Harvard School of Public Health believes that Swedish Match is consciously using the substance to increase addiction and their profits.

”In a study in 2008 he concluded that we are manipulating the pH value, something that we consider hugely speculative,” Brehmer adds.

”It never led to demands from any authority that we need to change something.”

There are around one million snus users in Sweden. Last year Swedish Match sold products amounting to four billion kronor.


four billion Swedish kronor = 536.64 million U.S. dollars

[snusgetter]

Gregory N. Connolly background..

... The trail seems to lead back to a guy called Professor Greg Connolly of the Harvard School of Public Health. There is no other source for this claim but it has got some play in the media.

Gregory N. Connolly - Professor of the Practice of Public Health Division of Public Health Practice - Department of Society, Human Development, and Health

Gregory N. Connolly, D.M.D., M.P.H. is the Interim Director of the Division of Public Health Practice, Director of the Tobacco Control Research Group, and Professor of the Practice of Public Health in the Department of Society, Human Development and Health at Harvard School of Public Health. He is also a Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor awarded to Harvard School of Public Health by the Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute (FAMRI). His research focuses on the control of tobacco and prevention of tobacco-related disease. He conducts research on tobacco product design, reduced risk tobacco products, global tobacco issues, efficacy of tobacco control interventions, and the structure and marketing practices of the tobacco industry. Dr. Connolly is the principle investigator on three research projects.

National Cancer Institute:
Design and Characterization of Tobacco Products
This project analyzes internal tobacco industry documents made available through the Master Settlement Agreement between the major tobacco manufacturers and the states’ attorneys general. The project objectives are to assess how tobacco manufacturers design their products and how product design promotes use among different groups. To this end, the project examines how design features, such as the use of blends, additives, and ventilation, contribute to youth initiation, addiction, and non-smokers’ exposure to secondhand smoke. The project studies how changes in tobacco product design affect smoke chemistry, patterns of deposition, bioavailability, and exposure to toxins and nicotine. The project also examines how tobacco manufacturers alter products to target specific populations, and how these design changes affect product acceptance, inhalation behavior, nicotine delivery and action, and long term smoking patterns.

American Legacy Foundation:
New Tobacco Products and PREPS: Design, Marketing and Consumer Response
This project monitors the design and marketing of emerging "harm-reduction" tobacco products, also known as Potentially Reduced Exposure Products (PREPs), and new conventional tobacco products. The project establishes a comprehensive surveillance system to monitor the introduction of new products and to evaluate the potential for harm. The project analyzes internal tobacco industry documents to assess industry research on the design, consumer acceptance, marketing, and health risks of PREPs and new products. The project conducts independent laboratory research to validate industry claims made by the industry. The project also conducts independent consumer research on the effect of PREP advertisements on smokers’ perceptions and behavior. The project investigates state and federal public health and consumer protection authority to regulate PREPS and their marketing.

Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute:
Impact of State and National Clean Indoor Air Laws on the Economy and Health of Hospitality Workers
This project investigates the economic effect of state clean indoor air laws on the hospitality and tourism industry including restaurant and bar business employment. The project hypothesizes that Clean Indoor Air (CIA) laws have no negative economic effects. The project also studies the effect of CIA laws on the health of non-smoking restaurant and bar workers in states and countries that have adopted CIA laws. Workers health is assessed through self-reports, measurement of toxins in the workers environment, and using biomarkers for nicotine and other toxin exposures.

[justintempler]

I found this old Swedish Match video while cleaning out my computer.
I uploaded it to my youtube channel for your enjoyment.

[Darwin]

Yes and Swedish Match adds an additional highly addictive substance to snus which has been shown to be harmful to humans when set alight and inhaled. I think it's called tobacco.

[PipenSnus]

I find it very interesting that nicotine is known to be a cognitive stimulant, and yet the Powers That Be seem determined to ban it.

:sarcasm mode on: Why in the world would they want to keep people from thinking more clearly? :sarcasm mode off:

[EricHill78]

Gregory Connolly is a douche bag.

[EricHill78]

Gregory Connolly is a douche bag.

SnusOn shows up good on web searches.. Remember that guy finding us who made quitsnus.com lol.

I just hope when someone looks up his name, my douche bag comment shows up. Gotta love the Internet.

[khalid]

I found this old Swedish Match video while cleaning out my computer.
I uploaded it to my youtube channel for your enjoyment.

LOL, music from a soft porn movie and farenheit 451 'take the blue pill cousin' voice over. I am sold on the harm reduction aspects of snus but this is creepy, no? Thanks for the laugh though.

[visiON]

SnusOn shows up good on web searches.. Remember that guy finding us who made quitsnus.com lol.

I just hope when someone looks up his name, my douche bag comment shows up. Gotta love the Internet.

http://www.google.ee/#hl=et&source=h...2361d10be24044

edit: Just searching for his name, he shows up on 2nd google page

[khalid]

ha, now number one hit for douche bag.