Will New Zealand Smokers Quit Scandinavian Style?

A new nicotine product is being launched tomorrow to make quitting smoking more attractive. The oral product called White Fox contains no tobacco and is about to be launched nationally with lots of interest among retailers.

• New Zealand smokers get a new option for quitting tomorrow with launch of new nicotine product
• Oral product similar to one which has reduced smoking to 5% in Sweden but contains no tobacco
• Oral nicotine products have cut youth smoking in Norway to 1%
• Repeated scientific research show products are vastly safer than smoking

“If New Zealand is serious about making smoking history then it has to provide a wide range of appealing alternatives to cigarettes - White Fox is adding to the options,” said Miles Illemann of NZ Smokefree Tomorrow which has changed its name from NZ Smokeless Tobacco Co because of the tobacco stigmas attached although they only deal with harm reduction products.

“E-cigarettes have been successful in helping many smokers want to switch from cigarettes, but it is oral nicotine products which have been the most effective competition to big tobacco companies in Scandinavia."

In Sweden, the oral nicotine product snus has routed demand for cigarettes with EU figures showing that the country now has by far the lowest smoking rate of the 28 member states at just 5%. [1] In neighbouring Norway snus is credited with all but ending smoking among young women - Government figures show the rate collapsed from 30% in 2000 to just 1% in 2017. [2] Academics are clear that it is oral tobacco which is behind these falls. [3]

“If we want to take the health of our Maōri Wahine seriously, we need to have cheap and effective products available. Many smokers prefer oral nicotine products to e-cigarettes because they don’t emit any vapour and so can be used discreetly. White Fox will also avoid the heavy excise tax which New Zealand imposes on snus,” said Mr Illemann.

Another attraction is that there is strong scientific evidence that modern oral nicotine products are far safer than smoking with recent studies showing no signs of them being associated with any ailments including oral cancer. [4] That is because, unlike South Asian and American chewed tobacco, they contain hardly any carcinogens.

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