Camel Snus Targets Kids

Contesting the way Camel promotes Camel Snus in Portland (Oregon).
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Kylie Meiner, Multnomah County"s tobacco prevention coordinator, says a flavored, spitless Camel product being test-marketed in Portland is aimed at young people. [Photo cutline]

Kylie Meiner is so angry she could spit. Except spitting, or not spitting, is exactly what has Multnomah County’s tobacco prevention coordinator upset in the first place.

Meiner is working to reduce smoking and its effects, especially in youths. And along comes Camel Snus.

Snus, marketed as flavored, scentless, spitless tobacco, isn’t available nationwide. But producer R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is test-marketing the product in two metropolitan areas — Austin, Texas, and Portland.

And Meiner, who has been following the Snus newspaper ads, store displays and direct mail, is convinced R.J. Reynolds’ test marketing is aimed directly at kids.

Meiner was particularly upset by a local newspaper ad that she said read, “Use it in a car, in a house, in a bar.”

“It kind of sounds like a Dr. Seuss rhyme scheme,” Meiner said.

A piece of direct mail Meiner said she received read, “Camel Snus, be the first on your block to try it.”

“I don’t care about being the first on my block to try things,” Menier said. “But I know 12-year-olds that do.”

David Howard, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds in Greensboro, N.C., denied Snus is being marketed at youths. “It’s against the law to sell the product to minors,” Howard said. “We wholeheartedly support that.”

Meiner isn’t convinced.

Snus comes in pouches of original flavor, frost and spice. “The reason tobacco companies flavor products is because they want to attract kids,” Meiner said.

And Snus, because it contains less moisture and salt than other chewing tobaccos, doesn’t require spitting. Which means, Meiner said, that a kid chewing Snus would be indistinguishable from a kid chewing less-harmful chewing gum.

“It doesn’t make you spit, so a school kid could use this in their classroom and look like they’re just chewing gum,” Meiner said.

Jan Margosian, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Justice, agrees with Meiner about the intended test market for Snus.

“I think it’s totally targeted toward our kids,” Margosian said. “Do you think adult users would be interested in having it taste different or (having) no smell or not being able to tell you’re using it? I don’t think adults would care about that. But kids would.”

Margosian said that people started calling the state Department of Justice and complaining about Snus and its marketing campaign almost as soon as the product hit the Portland market this past summer.

And the public was aware of the department’s interest, Margosian said, because over the summer the department went after flavored cigarettes believed to be aimed at youths.

A month ago the department, along with attorneys general in 38 other states, succeeded in getting R.J. Reynolds to stop selling flavored cigarettes.

Now, Margosian said, the department is gathering evidence against Snus and its possibly youth-targeted campaign.

But R.J. Reynolds’ Howard stressed the adult population in explaining why the company chose Portland as one of the two test markets.

“In Portland, there’s strong brand recognition among adult smokers for the Camel brand,” he said.

He added that the company “felt these markets were good ones to provide us with good learning about the product.”

Comments

[carmen]

test marketed in hipster central. i'm currently developing a straw that will let you swill PBR without taking out your snus. should be a major hit in all trucker hat areas

[A. Walters]

Give me a break!!!!! Would you anti-tobacco people chill out! It is very obvious this Meiner person is grasping at straws. I think Camel Snus is an excellent idea. Give the tobacco companies a break! They are trying to offer ADULT tobacco users an alternative to cigarettes. The slogan on a plane, in a car etc. hits home with ADULT smokers because most facilites are smoke free. Especially ADULT ONLY facilites like bars or clubs. To say it sounds like a Dr. Seuss book and the Tobacco Companies have a hidden meaning is hilarious! The way the anti-tobacco people make up crap and twist and turn things is ridiculous! I am sick and tired of it. Why don't they go find something else better to do with their time. Apparently they have way too much of it!!

[D.F.]

With the advent of anti-smoking legislation it makes sense tobacco companies would adopt a smokeless form of tobacco. RJR got the idea for Snus from a large tradition of its use in sweden. The swedish spice and flavor their snus, why shouldn't we? Adults have taste buds too and yes snus DOES have an aroma. With snus the risk is limited to the user (granted waste is created). If you spent more time with your kids instilling knowledge about tobacco use instead of fighting some imaginary brainwashing machine. I have no problem with anti-smoking ads, but when it comes to smoking social groups have a lot more influence than a billion dollar advertising budget could hope to exert.

[R. S.]

This is absurd. I know plenty of adult consumers who use flavored Tobacco products and the fact you are upset with R.J. Reynolds for test marketing a product that is more friendly to bystanders than smoking and allowing adults to exercise their right to use Tobacco is ridiculous. Snus is healthier to the user and (obviously) to others than cigarettes and I must add that if it weren't for Tobacco America would not be where it is today, so lay off.

[Frederick]

Meiner's sources for information must have misled him. Snus pouches aren't chewed at all. In fact, they are simply placed between the lower lip and gums. A child would look very conspicuous with what looks like a growth in his jaw...

[Zach]

The main point i have to make is that tobacco companies have little or no control over who gets their products. If a kid wants tobacco they are going to get it one way or another. Oh and i personally applaud the GoldenQ bar in Denver for charging a 25 cent YEARLY fee for a membership to allow smoking in their bar because of the new anti-smoking in public laws. I think that not having the right to smoke where we want is just as big of an injustice as someone having to sit in a place, some 30 some odd feet away from where someone is smoking. Check the facts, second hand smoke isn't one.

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[Nick]

what a joke. this is pathetic. I'm no defender of tobacco companies using unscrupulous marketing tactics...but this isn't one of them. Snus has been around for a long time in Sweden. it's not a new thing. except to America. Sweden has the lowest cancer rate in all of Europe and is the biggest user of smokeless tobacco. Why? They don't smoke. So what that it comes in flavors and is inconspicuous? That is very much a concern for adults. These "I don't think adults care and ONLY kids do" speculations are completely baseless. I'm an adult and I like different flavors, and I like being inconspicuous..not having people think I'm some nasty hick spitting everywhere or stinking of smoke and obnoxiously blowing my smoke everywhere. Of course the inconspicuous nature will find it's usage by kids but that's incumbent upon the vendors and the users to keep it away from them. It's not just 'dip that doesn't make you spit', it's much safer than dip in that it is made completely different without all the sickening and carcinogenic ingredients that standard dip has. It's certainly not 100% safe, but beats the crap out of any other tobacco type on the market.

[m.s]

yes i think its gross,lets just say i know someone who promote it in clubs ect and the girls are dressed like....snow hoochies!!!!and it is another way to give us cancer!

[???]

this is so dumb everyone else brings up great points its not like adults dont have taste buds... Personally i would rather have some mint flavor to taste and swallow than a natural tobacco taste i mean this idea to me is great it cuts out spitting from standard chew and is alot less noticable. I mean sure the cutting the smoking in public places is dumb because everyone has a right to do what they want but i mean they cant take this away. The only thing thatll get this product discontinued in america is the usage that it will get in public schools. What kids do is there problem parents cant always control what there kids will do nature of the world but it does help to say no. Regardless this product is a good idea and this meiner is a joke, what does she want all tobacco taken away alltogether!! its not going to happen so people will have to choose smoking or chew simple.

[Dr. Trosch]

The youth of today have more and more ways to obtain tobacco, older kids in high school, fake licenses which are apparently very easy to make with new technology etc. I use snuff and it's wintergreen grizzly it's flavored so I guess it attracts children. I started snuff when i was 22 and I'm slowly quiting but still Skoal comes in berry, apple, peach etc. Some of my friends do the Fruity flavors like the ones listed. I use snus to help me quit and also I can do it while teaching class you don't chew it but it is easy to hide, and it is also placed on the upper lip. People need to stop beating up one of the only componies that still are placed in the US.

[Dr. Trosch]

The youth of today have more and more ways to obtain tobacco, older kids in high school, fake licenses which are apparently very easy to make with new technology etc. I use snuff and it's wintergreen grizzly it's flavored so I guess it attracts children. I started snuff when i was 22 and I'm slowly quiting but still Skoal comes in berry, apple, peach etc. Some of my friends do the Fruity flavors like the ones listed. I use snus to help me quit and also I can do it while teaching class you don't chew it but it is easy to hide, and it is also placed on the upper lip. People need to stop beating up one of the only componies that still are placed in the US.

[Mike]

This is completely retarded. This woman obviously did no research on the product since she claims that "children could just appear to be chewing gum" when the product ISNT EVEN DESIGNED TO BE CHEWED! It simply sits between the gum and lip. Oh yes, and adults not caring about flavored tobacoo? Thats like saying adults prefer to chew only one flavor of gum. She also asserts that the lack of odor will somehow attract children when in reality adults would find that more of a virtue when consuming this product in work or in close quarters. This woman is completely rediculous and has nothing better to do with her time. She should get a life or just end herself.

[Josh]

Skoal has made "Bandits," for as long as I can remember and I know it comes in multiple flavors such as mint and wintergreen. Spitting is prefered while dipping Bandits, but not required. Discrete forms of dip have been around for ever, Camel is just trying to get a piece of that pie. Get off their nuts.

[chris horton]

you dont chew it you freacking retards, it sits on the upper part of your lip and gum. trust me i know this cause i use it in every class at school. i would get in trouble for chewing gum anyways.

[Kev]

this form of tobacco has been around around since the 17th century in Sweeden and has just started be introduced in the US. Smokers are not allowed to smoke inside and spitting all the time is inconvenient i think it is a good was of getting your fix without bothering others... as far as the flavors go there has always been different flavored tobacco products just because your an adult doesn't mean you don't like things that taste good.

[Anowar]

Swedish Snus

Snus, or snuff, as it is more commonly known in America, became immensely popular in Sweden in the 1700s. Swedish tobacco use in general had been flourishing, until a tobacco tax was imposed in an effort to curb use. Then, in 1741, a law was passed prohibiting anyone under the age of 21 to smoke. This had the unintended effect of popularizing the use of snus. In fact, the very practice of tucking snus into your mouth--in other words, oral snus--was invented in Sweden.

Snus was expensive, and therefore used mainly by the bourgeoisie. However, once oral snus became available, usage quickly spread throughout the working classes. Swedish immigrants brought snus to the United States in the 19th and early-20th centuries. However, with few exceptions, the snus manufactured in the U.S. was of a markedly inferior quality than that produced in Sweden. One of America's biggest snus enthusiasts was famed aviator Charles Lindbergh (who is of Swedish decent), who discovered the product after one of his trans-Atlantic flights. However, he too bemoaned the poor quality of the American-made products.

The process of making Swedish snus is specific and unique. Swedish snus is made from ground tobacco, water, salt, and other additives, usually for flavor. Because, in Sweden, snus is categorized as a foodstuff, there are strict regulations about its manufacture. There is, therefore, a high quality found in the Swedish products that is not found in snus products made anywhere else.

SwedSnus is your online home for buying this unique and popular tobacco product. Our goal is to make Swedish snus available throughout the world via our website. We don't order the snus from the factory until we receive your order, guaranteeing you the freshest snus possible.

[aaron]

has anyone who comments on this actually tried it? I was in portland for a visit and bought SNUS cause you dont have to spit. Its great not to have to worry about a spit cup in the car or the bar. Doesnt seem to me like its being targeted to kids, I enjoy the flavor as apposed to the harse taste of strait tobacco. leave people alone and let us do what we want as you liberals like to say "its my body"

[j money]

Go to camelsnus.com and gothiatek.com for full explanations to everything you could want to know about the category...

[William Baker]

Wow...these have got to the most moronic reasons for believeing its being sold to kids ever...so what im being told is that adults dont like different flavors? they infact want and love tasteless flavorless products?

It sounds like a doctor seuss ryhme? what ryhme doesn't? there are a million ryhmes used on products out there why is this person not attacking them? there have been beer ad's with ryhmes wheres the attack there?

And adults wouldn't want a spitless, no bad breath tobacco product? what you mean with the fact all the anti smoking bans going all over the country maybe these people dont wanna have to go into a place and then LEAVE it to get a tobacco fix maybe they could just use snus and not have to deal with not being allowed to enjoy a tobacco product in that public place, or resteraunt...ect

And they could just be chewing gum in school? last i checked chewing gum in class wasn't allowed so how would this be? Kylie Meiner is simply looking for a reason to pretty much ban all smoking will she not be happy that a product like tobacco isn't marketed to kids untill its actually traded in black dark alleys and tobacco halls or some thing?

There is not a single reason she has presented that this stuff is being targeted to kids infact it wasn't even made by marlboro or camel or rj reynolds for that matter it originated in sweden...and infact over there smoking laws are pretty much none existant and they live longer happier lives then us americans.

[meee]

actually, these are really inconspicuous..
i'm 15. i throw these in my upper cheek every day in class and i've never got a single comment from a teacher because it is literally impossible to notice, even when pointing it out. so before you say it would be noticeable for various reasons, think about it. there will always be a way to make it impossible to see.

[BTWmark]

This is why most of the world thinks that americans are idiots. I would tend to agree. If said opinion is based on Ms. Meiner's comments. It took me a grand total of 10 seconds and google to find the errors in her statements. Hire a fact checker before you publish the rantings of a twit.
Snus have been around for hundreds of years. To compare the name to a Dr. Seuss rhyme scheme is appalling. Its an insult to the Swedish language to try to link an odd sounding word (to english speakers) to subversive marketing by Big Tobacco. Get a Hobby! Read a book!

[justin]

This is idiotic.

Rhyming is not marketing to kids. Talking about being "first on the block" is not marketing towards kids. Teenagers don't talk like that, either, if you noticed. It's tongue-in-cheek marketing.

Snus is super safe. Sweden's cancer rates are in the basement because snus is so safe and they use so much of it (instead of smoking).

Get over it. Snus is a safe tobacco product.

If you actually cared about people, you'd spend as much time espousing the virtues of snus as you do demonizing cigarettes.

Protecting kids is one thing. Attempting to make it impossible to sell products to adults is another.

Do you want to ban dildos that come in bright colors because kids like bright colors? What's next?!?!?!

[justin]

By the way, what on earth made this legal eagle in the article think that adults are not interested in being able to use tobacco covertly?

Do you think adults want to be sitting at work, spitting tobacco juice all over the place? This is one of the reasons adults love snus!!!!!

I think that idiot should be booted from her position. Her brains are obviously mush.

Believe me people -- tobacco companies want adults. They want people with money. Just like drug dealers -- they're not selling drugs to first graders, because first graders don't have any money, and they sure as h*ll aren't giving away free sample.

The people quoted in the article are truly idiots...

[Mary]

kids are getting SNUS for free, comes as free sample with a pack, easy for any kid to end up with several. smels limke chewing gum, like sugar, gives kids a high and causes gum cancer. directed to kids no doubt about it know many who have them already from 10 on up. enough tobacco to want any child to try more, this is the time the tobacco compamies get kids hooked when their brains are developing, this is science, hook them now great customer for ever