Prevention Matters

Food companies committing to take 1.5 trillion calories out of their products by 2015 was named the “Best Prevention Idea of the Week,” while teens mistaking smokeless tobacco products for candy was named the “Worst Prevention Idea of the Week."

The “Best/Worst” awards are announced each week in “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. Nominees are submitted by Partnership staff as well as the general public, and are voted on by the staff. Partnership for Prevention is a nonpartisan organization of business, nonprofit and government leaders who are working to make evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion a national priority. More information is available at http://www.prevent.org/.

BEST

Food makers to trim 1.5 trillion calories

Several of the nation's largest food companies say they will take 1.5 trillion calories out of their products by 2015 in an effort to reduce childhood obesity.

The companies made the announcement through the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a coalition of retailers, food and beverage manufacturers and industry trade associations. They pledged to reduce the calories as part of an agreement with a group of nonprofit organizations concerned with childhood obesity, first lady Michelle Obama said last Monday.

WORST

One out of Three Teens Mistook Smokeless Tobacco Products for Candy


According to a survey administered by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, one out of three teenagers younger than 18 mistakenly identified a new type of smokeless tobacco product as candy or gum. The survey of about 1,400 Virginia residents, including 728 younger than 18, asked them to identify package images for several types of new, smokeless tobacco products, as well as package images of mints and gums. About 39 percent of the respondents younger than 18 identified Camel Orbs, an oral tobacco product that dissolves in the mouth and delivers nicotine to the user, as mints or gum. Of the teenagers younger than 18 surveyed who do not currently use tobacco, 27 percent said they would try Camel Orbs based on packaging alone.

According to a survey administered by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, one out of three teenagers younger than 18 mistakenly identified a new type of smokeless tobacco product as candy or gum. The survey of about 1,400 Virginia residents, including 728 younger than 18, asked them to identify package images for several types of new, smokeless tobacco products, as well as package images of mints and gums. About 39 percent of the respondents younger than 18 identified Camel Orbs, an oral tobacco product that dissolves in the month and delivers nicotine to the user, as mints or gum. Of the teenagers younger than 18 surveyed who do not currently use tobacco, 27 percent said they would try Camel Orbs based on packaging alone.

Another product identified in the survey was Stonewall, a type of smokeless, pellet tobacco sold by Star Scientific Inc. About 35 percent of the survey respondents 18 or younger perceived Stonewall to be candy, mints or gum. Twenty-three percent said they would try Stonewall because of the packaging.

The survey results suggest that packaging of the products alone may appeal to youth, said Danny Saggese, director of marketing for the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth."It poses a significant risk to youth and raises the possibility of them not only using these products, but using them in places where smoking is now prohibited, and potentially becoming nicotine addicts," he said.

In March 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a rule restricting access and marketing of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to youth. The rule becomes effective June 22, 2010 and will require smokeless tobacco products to have warning labels that cover one-third of the front and back of the packages. However, many tobacco prevention groups and government officials believe the FDA should ban smokeless tobacco products altogether. In an April 18th New York Times interview, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon called the products “tobacco candy,” noting that “everything about them is designed for kids.”

Brandi Robinson
Program Associate
Partnership for Prevention

The World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day 2010 will be celebrated on May 31. This year’s health theme is “Gender and Tobacco”, with an emphasis on marketing to women. Though women comprise only 20% of the world’s one billion smokers, the rise in prevalence, especially among girls, is alarming.

The new WHO report, Women and Health, cites the fact that the tobacco industry has ramped up its marketing efforts to women in countries worldwide.

Details about the event and the 2010 focus on women can be found on the WHO website.

On World No Tobacco Day 2010, and throughout the following year, WHO will encourage governments to pay particular attention to protecting women from the tobacco companies' attempts to lure them into lifetimes of nicotine dependence. By responding to WHO's call, governments can reduce the toll of fatal and crippling heart attacks, strokes, cancers and respiratory diseases that have become increasingly prevalent among women. Tobacco use could kill one billion people during this century. Recognizing the importance of reducing tobacco use among women, and acting upon that recognition, would save many lives.

David Zauche
Managing Senior Fellow & Senior Program Officer
Partnership for Prevention

R.J. Reynolds new product “Camel Orbs” poses health risks to infants and children according to a new study published online April 19, 2010 in the journal Pediatrics. Orbs are dissolvable nicotine products, flavored with cinnamon or mint, that are made to look like candy. Gregory Connolly, lead author of the study and director of the Tobacco Control Research Program at Harvard School of Public Health, said, “"This product is called a 'tobacco' product, but in the eyes of a 4-year-old, the pellets look more like candy than a regular cigarette. Nicotine is a highly addictive drug and to make it look like a piece of candy is recklessly playing with the health of children."

Ingestion of tobacco products by infants and children is a major reason for calls to poison control centers nationwide. In 2007, 6,724 tobacco-related poisoning cases were reported among children five years of age and under. Small children can experience nausea and vomiting from as little as 1 mg of nicotine.

David Zauche
Senior Program Officer
Partnership for Prevention

Tobacco giant Philip Morris USA, a division of Altria Group (MO), on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out the landmark ruling saying the cigarette industry misled the public about the dangers of smoking. Hours later, the Obama administration asked the court to allow it access to nearly $300 billion in what it calls ill-gotten profits from the industry. The dueling filings are the latest chapter in an epic legal fight that has gone on for more than a decade.

In its filing, Philip Morris asked the court to overturn a massive racketeering verdict that forced the company to change its practices and increase its warnings about the dangers of smoking. Philip Morris argued that, in addition to letting the U.S. "pervert" the racketeering statute, known as RICO, the courts had violated its First Amendment rights.

Posted by:
David Zauche
Managing Senior Fellow & Senior Program Officer, Partnership for Prevention