Snus Ad Campaign Starts as Expanded Antismoking Laws Take Effect in New York City

A new ad campaign for the smokeless tobacco brand Camel Snus starts as expanded antismoking laws take effect Monday in New York City. Tobacco maker Reynolds American Inc. is taking out full-page ads for the brand in newspapers including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the New York Daily News.

The ads urge smokers to use Camel Snus instead of smoking cigarettes, The Wall Street Journal reports. The ads start running as New York City expands its antismoking laws to city parks, public beaches and other public areas including pedestrian malls.

The article states that while the ads do not make any health claims, research shows that snus is significantly less harmful than cigarettes. In Sweden, where cigarette smoking among men is low and snus use is high, researchers have found lower levels of lung cancer among men compared with the rest of Europe and the United States.

While some public health advocates say that products like snus could help reduce harm caused by tobacco, critics say it may encourage people to start using tobacco, and could keep smokers from quitting.

Snus (pronounced snoos) was first introduced in several U.S. test markets in 2006 and has been available nationwide since 2009. Snus is manufactured using a process that makes it lower in carcinogens called tobacco-specific nitrosamines. Snus also doesn’t stimulate saliva the way that snuff does and thus doesn’t require spitting. A person using snus puts a small pouch filled with the product between the lip and the gum.