July 22, 2011 - While the tobacco industry claims smokeless products are safer alternatives to smoking, public health officials and others worry that they will entice a new generation to get hooked on tobacco. When placed in the mouth, the small pellets dissolve within ten minutes, providing a nicotine hit. The first dissolvable tobacco product, a lozenge called Ariva, debuted in 2001. In the last year, the number of products on sale or in test marketing has jumped and major tobacco companies have entered the arena. According to the CDC, 7% of U.S. adult males use smokeless tobacco. Few studies have been conducted specifically on potential health risks of dissolvable tobacco, but health experts say that these products increase the risk of oral, pancreatic, and esophageal cancer as well as heart disease. In April, the FDA announced it was developing a strategy to regulate additional categories of tobacco products and that it would review information on dissolvable tobacco from published studies. The agency is expected to close the loopholes that prevent smokeless tobacco from escaping its jurisdiction.

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