This document contains definitions and overview on a number of tobacco products and nicotine delivery devices currently available on the US and/or international market.

Updated April 2011 [ako]

A New Wave of Tobacco

Products

Summary of Tobacco Products Currently for Sale in an Evolving US Market

Background

As stricter tobacco control laws are implemented—including cigarette and

tobacco taxation, clean air laws and promotional restrictions—the tobacco

industry looks to new products and means of getting people, especially children,

hooked on their products.

With cigarette sales falling and the loss of thousands of aging smokers every day,

the tobacco industry is forced to seek ways to improve income levels and ensure

business sustainability. Nothing is more sustainable than hooking a customer

from a young age, which is the tobacco industry’s goal as they look to a new era

of industry operation—a new wave of products to ensure lifelong addiction and

customer retention.

Products Currently on the Marketi

Chewing tobacco

o The product is consumed orally, but is not actually

chewed. Rather, the user places a small amount in

the bottom lip of their mouth, between the gum and

the teeth where it is compacted tightly into the

user's lip. It is common to spit and discard of excess

saliva caused by the tobacco.

o Chewing tobacco comes in several forms:

Loose leaf tobacco is sweetened and packaged loose in

aluminum lined packs. The chewer simply takes a portion

directly from the pouch. This is the most common form of

chew.

Plug tobacco is press formed into sheets, with the aid of

syrup (typically molasses), which helps maintain form as

well as sweetens. The sheets are then cut into individual

plugs, wrapped with fine tobacco and packaged.

Individual servings must be cut or bitten directly from the

plug.

Twist tobacco is spun and rolled into large

rope-like strands and then twisted into knots.

The final product is much lower in moisture

than plug or loose leaf tobacco, and historic

varieties could be smoked in a pipe as well as

chewed. This was the most common form of

chewing tobacco in the 18th and 19th

centuries.

Modern use is primarily limited to Civil War other

other period reenactors.

Tobacco bits are formed by rolling sweetened—typically

flavored—tobacco into small pieces which are consumed

individually. These are typically packaged in small tins like

mints.

Cigars

o A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and

fermented tobacco which is ignited so that its

smoke may be drawn into the smoker's mouth, but

not inhaled.

Blunts

o Blunts are wide, somewhat stubby versions of cigars which are

often flavored.

o Blunts typically consist of two main parts; the inner leaf, which is

similar to a cigarette rolling paper, except it is made of tobacco,

and a thicker outer leaf which is rolled around the inner leaf in a

spiral. In most commercially available blunts, the "leaves" are not

actual tobacco leaves but rather paper made from tobacco pulp.

Cigarillos

o Cigarillos are long, thin cigars, somewhat larger than

cigarettes but smaller than regular cigars.

o Unlike cigarettes, cigarillos are wrapped not in whole-

leaf tobacco.

o Cigarillos are sold both in packs and singularly.

o Cigarillos can are often made without filters.

o Unlike a cigarette, they are not meant to be inhaled

but rather smoked like a cigar.

Little cigars

o A little cigar is a cigar that is the same size as a cigarette;

however, it still retains its legal classification as a cigar because it

is wrapped in a tobacco leaf or mixed of tobacco leaf and paper.

o Sales of little cigars quadrupled in the U.S. from 1971 to 1973 in

response to the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act, which

banned broadcast cigarette advertisements and required

stronger health warnings on cigarette packs. Cigars were exempt

from the ban, and perhaps more importantly, are taxed at a

significantly lower rate.

Dipping tobacco (dip)

o Dipping tobacco is most commonly known as American moist

snuff or spit tobacco, and is a form of smokeless tobacco.

o Dip is sometimes called "chew" and often confused with chewing

tobacco.

o To use dip, a small clump of dip is 'pinched' out of the tin and

placed between the lower or upper lip and gums.

o Different forms of dip include:

Long cut, or “straight cut,” is larger grain dip. It is the

most popular form of dip on the market.

Mid cut sized dipping tobacco is comparable to small

granules at about 1 mm cubed.

Fine cut comes in granules slightly larger than sand or

coffee grounds.

(American) snuff is used as a common term to describe all

forms of moist dipping tobacco.

Original “snuff,” which was developed and is still

used in England, looks similar to dirt or sand in

terms of granular size and is inhaled through the

nostrils.

In the US, snuff is also known as “American

snuff,” “moist snuff” and “Swedish snus.”

Pouches (aka ‘snus’) hold fine cut tobacco in a small

teabag-like pouch for convenience.

This is different from Swedish snus, which is a

product similar to loose moist snuff.

Cigarettes

o Cigarettes are consumed through smoking a

paper-wrapped cylinder (usually less than

120 mm in length and 10 mm in diameter)

stuffed with a mixture of cured and finely cut

tobacco leaves and reconstituted tobacco, often

combined with other additives.

o A cigarette is distinguished from a cigar by its smaller size, use of

processed leaf, and paper wrapping.

o There are other forms of cigarettes including:

Kreteks

Kreteks are cigarettes made with a complex blend

of tobacco, cloves and a flavoring 'sauce'.

Since 2009, kreteks are no longer legal for sale in

the United States. However a variation of the

kretek is being sold: "cigars" that are similar in

size and shape to the original kreteks, also with a

filter and the original tobacco/clove blend, but in

a tobacco-based paper.

Roll-Your-Own

Roll-your-own cigarettes are cigarettes made

from loose tobacco and rolling papers. Roll-your-

own products are sold as a

pouch of tobacco for rolling

hand-rolled cigarettes,

sometimes with the rolling

papers provided in the

pouch. Loose filters can also

be bought and added to the

rolled cigarettes.

Also known as (aka) “RYO,”

“rollies,” “roll-ups” or “hand-

rolled cigarettes.”

Dissolvable tobacco

o Dissolvable tobacco is the newest form of tobacco product on the

market, entering mainstream use in the latter half of the 2000s.

The product consists of finely-processed tobacco which is

developed in such a way as to allow the substance to dissolve in

the mouth.

o Star Scientific manufactures two brands of dissolvable tobacco:

Ariva and Stonewall. Both brands contain flue-cured powdered

Virginia tobacco compressed into smoke-free, spit-free, flavored

dissolvable tobacco “lozenges” packaged in blister packages and a

cardboard carton (much like OTC medications).

The Ariva brand, introduced in 2001, contains 1.5

milligrams of nicotine in each piece and dissolves

in the mouth in 10-30 minutes.

o Comes in five flavors: Cinnamon, Mint,

Cirtus, Wintergreen and Java.

The Stonewall brand, introduced in 2003, has

more surface area and contain 4.0 milligrams of

nicotine per piece, with each piece dissolving in

10-30 minutes

o Comes in three flavors: Natural,

Wintergreen,

and Java.

o Camel products (orbs, sticks and strips) were pulled from test

markets in early 2011, however other tobacco companies are

currently looking at designing similar single-unit tobacco product

similar to the Camel examples outlined below.

Orbs contain fine grain tobacco combined with “additives

such as water, flavorants, binders, colorants, pH

adjusters, buffering agents, fillers, disintegration aids,

humectants, antioxidants, oral care

ingredients, preservatives, additives derived

from herbal or botanical sources, and

mixtures thereof.”ii

Camel currently sells the product in

two versions: Mellow and Fresh.

Each pellet contains 1 milligram of

nicotine, dissolving in the mouth in 10-15

minutes.

The stick is a twisted stick the size of a toothpick that lasts

in the mouth about 20-30 minutes, and contains 3.1

milligrams of nicotine.

The Camel Sticks are for insertion between the

upper lip and gum, and come in one style:

Mellow.

Strips contain 0.6 milligrams of nicotine per strip and use

the same technology used in the Listerine PocketPacks.

The thin film nicotine delivery device lasts 2-3

minutes.

Camel Strips come in one style: Fresh

Nicotine-laced orbs, strips and sticks have joined chewing

tobacco and snuff to become the second-most common

cause of unintentional tobacco ingestion in children

younger than 6.iii

Product Usage Guide for Camel Dissolvable Tobacco:

Shisha tobacco

o It is a somewhat moist form of tobacco that is coagulated with

molasses or other sweeteners and has been popular in the

Middle-East for centuries. It is often smoked with a hookah water

pipe.

Electronic Cigarettesiv

o Electronic cigarettes (or “e-cigarettes”) are

nicotine delivery devices that do not contain

tobacco, but resemble cigarettes, cigars or

pipes.

The e-cigarette contains a battery, an

atomizer and a cartridge containing a

mixture of nicotine, water and

propylene glycol.

By using the battery to make electronic heat, the

atomizer device vaporizes the liquid nicotine

within the cartridge into an inhalable mist.

It is patented as a “mouth sucking type

household ultrasonic atomization therapeutic

device.”

Some versions have the e-cigarette appearing as pens

and other nontobacco products for concealment

purposes (see left).

The eLiquid (nicotine liquid in the e-cigarette) is available

in a number of different flavors and nicotine

concentrations.

There are currently 17 (known) companies/dealers

actively marketing the sale of an electronic cigarette.

o The FDA has classified electronic cigarettes as drug delivery

device and is subject to approval before being sold in the US

(under the authority of Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act).

o The FDA currently bans the import of e-cigarettes into the United

States.

In January 2010, this rule was overturned by a federal

judge. However, the importation of e-cigarettes will be

banned indefinitely as the result of a unanimous ruling by

the U.S. Court of Appeals in March 2010, which reversed

the lower courts ruling.

Electronic cigarette companies are prominent on the

internet, where much of their marketing and sales are

conducted.

It has yet to be determined what actions the FDA will

take to ensure that only compliant products are on the

market.

Several countries, including Hong Kong, Singapore,

Finland, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Chile and Panama, have

banned the sale of e-cigarettes.

Malaysia, Denmark, Austria and New Zealand

classify e-cigarettes as medicinal products.

o Several studies regarding the health impact of inhaling nicotine

vapor are currently underway.

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated in

September 2008 that it does not consider the electronic

cigarette to be a smoking cessation aid.v

In July 2009, the FDA issued a statement discouraging the

use of electronic cigarettes and stated concerns that

electronic cigarettes do not contain the proper health

warnings or labels, and may be marketed to youth.vi

Arizona, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York and

Pennsylvania have begun efforts to restrict

electronic cigarette use in various forms.

Nico-water was banned in Maine in 2004,

setting precedence for the ban of nicotine

delivery devises.

Additional states are waiting to determine

action on e-cigarettes pending official

decision on product safety by the FDA.

There is continued concern and question as to how e-

cigarettes will impact, or be impacted by, existing

secondhand smoke laws.

o In May 2010, Japanese company Japan Tobacco Inc. began selling

the “Zerostyle Mint.” The product, which “resembles a regular

cigarette but contain a replaceable cartridge that holds tobacco

leaves” emits no smoke but allows the user to inhale the taste of

tobacco and mint through a tapered mouthpiece.vii

Items available internationally, but not discussed, include:

Dokha

Gutka

Tobacco gum

Tobacco water (banned for sale in Maine)

Topical tobacco paste

Creamy snuff

i Please note that, unless otherwise cited, information contained in this document derived from the following source(s):

Tobacco Products. (2010, April 10). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved May 25-26, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_products

ii Dube, Michael Francis, et al. Smokeless Tobacco Composition. U. S. Patent Application. 7 Feb 2008. iii Aleccia, JoNela. “Tobacco „mints‟ tied to kids‟ poisoning.” MSNBC 19 April 2010. Internet. iv Please note that, unless otherwise cited, information contained in this document derived from the following source(s):

Electronic cigarettes. (2010, May 26). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved May 27, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_cigarettes

v World Health Organization. Press Announcement. “Marketers of electronic cigarettes should halt unproved therapy claims.” WHO Tobacco Free Initiative. 9 September 2010. Internet. vi Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “FDA and Public Health Experts Warn About Electronic Cigarettes.” Press Announcement. 22 July 2009. Internet. vii Ryall, Julian. “Japanese tobacco company unveils „smokeless cigarette.‟” The Daily Telegraph 18 May 2010. Internet.