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SALT LAKE CITY — If it isn't accomplished by fancy packaging, local officials are worried that big tobacco companies are more readily using tantalizing flavors to hook young users.
Grape, cherry, bubble gum and intense wintergreen flavors, which are already popular with children and teens, are being used to mask the natural harshness and actual taste of tobacco smoke, encouraging kids to smoke, which is of the utmost concern for Utah's health industry.
Tobacco products are deadly enough for adults and children have developing bodies half the size of adults, so these toxins are much deadlier for kids.
–Dr. Charles W. Pruitt
"Tobacco products are deadly enough for adults and children have developing bodies half the size of adults, so these toxins are much deadlier for kids," said Dr. Charles W. Pruitt, medical adviser for child advocacy at Primary Children's Medical Center. He said that if a child eats two cigarette butts, emergency department rules at the hospital state that it is "a life-threatening situation."
On Thursday, PCMC, along with the Utah Department of Health and the Utah Poison Control Center, announced a new website to help inform the public of the dangerous tactics tobacco companies are using to market to teens.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, more than 233 new tobacco products, including 151 new cigarette products and 43 new chewing tobacco choices were released in 2008. Flashy advertisements accompanied many of them, specifically directed at children and teens.
The site — www.StreetSmartUtah.org — includes pictures of various tobacco products, which are made to look like popular candies and other acceptable foods, and asks visitors to go through a series of questions, choosing whether what is pictured is tobacco or candy. It contains various facts and reminds users that all tobacco products are addictive and carry serious health risks.
"While all tobacco products are addicting, the new dissolvable tobacco products are a greater concern for childhood poisoning," said Utah Poison Control director Barbara Insley Crouch. "The candy-like appearance, enhanced flavoring and attractive packaging put children at higher risk for accidental ingestion."
Depending on the size of a child, as little as one tobacco-laced, dissolvable lozenge can cause side effects ranging from nausea and vomiting to heart arrhythmias and seizures, according to the UDOH.
Tobacco use costs Utah taxpayers $369 million each year in smoking-related medical expenses and $294 million in lost productivity. Officials believe tobacco prevention and control efforts are working in the state and anti-tobacco and quit services provide a return on investment because people are continuing to make health choices and live fuller lives.
In addition to saving lives, each percentage point reduction in the smoking rate in the state equals savings of $315 million in future health care costs, according the UDOH.
E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com
