New/emerging tobacco products – 1/14/09

Q: New tobacco products have been sighted in various parts of the country, including an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) that is being marketing in shopping mall kiosks. The TCN would like to raise awareness about these products as well as determine where the products are being marketed and sold. 

  1. Have you observed or heard about e-cigarettes being sold or marketed in your state?  If so, what is your state doing to address this? (E.g., changing statutory definitions of tobacco products to include these products and subject them to excise taxes, oversight/tracking and other laws)
  2. Are there any additional new products being marketed or sold in your state in recent months that you would like to make other states aware of?
  3. Are you interested in the TCN providing opportunities (discussion groups, conference calls, etc) to share more information about new/emerging products and tobacco industry marketing tactics?  Please specify how the TCN can be of assistance.

Note: E-cigarettes are marketed as an alternative to the cigarette, providing small amounts of the chemical nicotine with each inhalation.  The device takes the form of a tiny rod which is slightly longer than a normal cigarette. The mouthpiece of the device contains a replaceable cartridge filled with liquid. The main substances contained in the liquid are nicotine, propylene glycol, and optional flavors or aromas. When the user inhales through the device, the air flow is detected by a sensor. A microswitch then activates a piezoelectric nebulizer (popularized by the industry as an atomizer), which injects tiny droplets of the liquid into the flowing air and vaporizes the nicotine. This produces a vapor mist which is inhaled by the user. The addition of propylene glycol to the liquid makes the mist better resemble normal cigarette smoke. The microprocessor also activates an orange LED at the tip to simulate real smoking.  E-cigarettes generally use a rechargeable battery as a power source. You can go to the following distributor sites for more information about the product:

A:

  1. California: In an effort to provide a comprehensive response, I have queried three of our statewide technical assistance projects (Technical Assistance Legal Center, The Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing and California Youth Advocacy Network) using your questions below.

    1. Have you observed or heard about e-cigarettes being sold or marketed in your state?  If so, what is your state doing to address this? (E.g., changing statutory definitions of tobacco products to include these products and subject them to excise taxes, oversight/tracking and other laws)
       
      • Other companies selling these products in the US are NJOY and Crown 7.  We have heard anecdotally from the field (California Tobacco Control Program grantees or partners) that these products are being sold at some mall kiosks in California, as well as at CostCo. Click for more information.
         
      • We have learned that two countries have regulated these devices. Holland has banned advertising of them and Belgium has banned their sales.  Both of these policies have to do with the fact that electronic cigarettes have been classified as medicine in those countries.  In Holland, there is no advertising for medicine so these products are subject to that law.  In Belgium, all medicines must go through a regulatory process in order to get approved and electronic cigarettes have not done that yet so they can’t be sold in that country.
         
      • The California Tobacco Control Program continues to make a concerted effort to educate their funded grantees and their community coalitions on new/emerging trends related to tobacco products.  At a recent “Smoke-free California” sponsored by the California Tobacco Control Program in December 2008, one breakout session was dedicated to addressing emerging trends in tobacco use and policy responses.
          
    2. Are there any additional new products being marketed or sold in your state in recent months that you would like to make other states aware of?
       
      • Although these products are not new, they are worth mentioning:
        • Snus
        • Hookah
        • Dissolvable Tobacco Products
          • RJR (products are not currently sold in California)
          • Ariva and Stonewall
             
    3. Are you interested in the TCN providing opportunities (discussion groups, conference calls, etc) to share more information about new/emerging products and tobacco industry marketing tactics?  Please specify how the TCN can be of assistance.
       
      • Yes, California would greatly appreciate opportunities for discussion and TA on these topics.  One of our statewide projects – California Youth Advocacy Network addresses adults and youth tobacco control issues; they have indicated receiving many requests for information on new products that may appeal to younger adults.  Specific topics of interest would include: industry marketing methods of new products, description of the problem with the product, and problems that states may encounter with the new product.
         
  2. Connecticut: a) Although we have not gotten any reports of e-cigarettes, we expect that they will not pose a problem as an exception to most of our 'smoking prohibited' legislation, because the wording in our clean indoor air act is regarding "smoking" , defined as "lighting or carrying of a lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe or similar device"... b) We have not heard of other new products being marketed. c) We would always be interested in hearing about new products/issues/emerging tactics that are occurring elsewhere as they will all work their way here!
     
  3. Indiana: The Camel dissolvables (tobacco pellet) have arrived in Indiana. We are a test market (yet again) for this product.  We welcome the chance to talk with others about how they track the marketing of these new products and what they might be doing to counteract this.  There are others interested in this topic.  Those from a research perspective and others from a policy perspective.  It would be nice to have some way to work together on this.
     
  4. Iowa: We have had inquiries from two different manufacturers of e-cigarettes about how Iowa’s Smokefree Air Act might apply to their products.  (It doesn’t, since these products are not smoked and do not emit smoke.)  On Friday, February 13, we were informed by a television reporter in the Davenport that a bar in the Quad cities was hosting a demonstration of the e-cigarette that evening.   Apparently, the event was not too exciting because we did not hear of any coverage on the news and there was nothing posted on the station’s website.  So they are here and they are marketing, but so far it is pretty low key.
     
  5. Maryland: These definitely exist in Maryland and have not yet been addressed legislatively.  We also have seen a lot of snus sampling - pretty aggressive - clerks saying "I have to give you samples of this product".  We would be interested to hear from TCN about new products and other industry tactics, as well as any state interventions/responses.  Conference calls (perhaps combined with other issues so there aren't several additional calls) and/or fact sheets compiled by TCN would be useful.  We recently received an inquiry from our new Dep. Sec. of Health about the e-cigarettes; she saw them in a local mall and wanted to know what "we" were doing about them.
     
  6. Missouri: Missouri would be interested in conference calls to our staff and partners in learning more.
     
  7. Montana: a) Have you observed or heard about e-cigarettes being sold or marketed in your state? NO b). Are there any additional new products being marketed or sold in your state in recent months that you would like to make other states aware of? NO c) Are you interested in the TCN providing opportunities (discussion groups, conference calls, etc) to share more information about new/emerging products and tobacco industry marketing tactics? YES!!
     
  8. Nebraska: a) Our state hasn’t observed or heard about e-cigarettes yet, at least not that I am aware of. b) We haven’t observed any new tobacco products in recent months. c) Yes, always interested in hearing about what the tobacco industry is up to as far as marketing practices as well as potential new products.  If they are test marketing and/or piloting products somewhere, the rest of the nation can’t be far behind if they have success.
     
  9. North Carolina: a) Yes - Some of our partners have seen the kiosks selling e-cigs in our state. One of our local health departments has been approached by one company about "sponsoring" smoke-free restaurants and bars - creating "Luci Zones." The health department responded very strongly that they would not partner with a company selling an addictive, deadly product. While the website acknowledges the addictive and harmful nature of nicotine, the salesperson who contacted a local health department in N.C. called their product addictive but harmless. b) N/A c) We would be interested in all of the above.
     
  10. Ohio: Dissolvable smokeless products are being test marketed in Columbus, Ohio.
     
  11. Oregon: E-cigarettes have been sighted in Oregon at three of our malls and probably more.
     
  12. Rhode Island: There is a kiosk at the Providence Place Mall in Providence, RI. We are considering local and national options to address this issue and are interested in knowing what other states are doing on this issue - has anyone approached the FDA yet? Should we try to do so together? We are considering bringing this to the limelight of our national delegation and just want to see what other states are doing on this emerging issue.  It would be useful to learn about new products.
     
  13. West Virginia: A new caffeine infused chew product is being sold in West Virginia. Click for more information.
     
  14. Wyoming: Wyoming is interested in finding out more about new products and participating in discussions, via conference calls regarding this subject.

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