Clearing The Air

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Smoking bans promote use of replacement nicotine products......but the "cure" may cause cancer

Unless you live under of rock, CTA readers know that smoking ban lobbyists are heavily funded ($446,000,000.00+) by replacement nicotine product manufacturer Johnson & Johnson Company's Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)......a rent seeking marketing ploy pure and simple. J & J manufactures or owns Nicoderm, Nicoderm CQ, Nicorette, Nicotrol and Commit.

Now however, Johnson & Johnson/RWJF , and the non-profits they fund to promote smoking bans (American Lung, American Cancer, Non-Smoker's Rights, Tobacco Free Kids, etc) may find themselves to be defendants in lawsuits similar to the tobacco companies in years past, as a new study finds that alternative nicotine products may cause cancer.

Excerpt:

Nicotine chewing gum, lozenges and inhalers designed to help people to give up smoking may have the potential to cause cancer, research has suggested.

Scientists have discovered a link between mouth cancer and exposure to nicotine, which may indicate that using oral nicotine replacement therapies for long periods could contribute to a raised risk of the disease. A study funded by the Medical Research Council, led by Muy-Teck Teh, of Queen Mary, University of London, has found that the effects of a genetic mutation that is common in mouth cancer can be worsened by nicotine in the levels that are typically found in smoking cessation products.

The results raise the prospect that nicotine, the addictive chemical in tobacco, may be more carcinogenic than had previously been appreciated. “Although we acknowledge the importance of encouraging people to quit smoking, our research suggests nicotine found in lozenges and chewing gums may increase the risk of mouth cancer,” Dr Teh said.

The major difference is the alternative nicotine special interests brought these lawsuits upon themselves. Meanwhile CTA (a non-smoking publication) finds perverse pleasure at the thought of RWJF and all their minions being subjected to mega billion dollar lawsuits.....couldn't happen to a more well deserving bunch of rent seeking, economy damaging, scam artists.

Smokers if you decide to quit smoking go cold turkey, don't reward the special interests who funded the smoking ban movement by purchasing or using government funded (quit line) alternative nicotine products.....which may be hazardous to your health.

As a reminder, air quality testing by some well known organizations prove that secondhand smoke is up to 25,000 times SAFER than OSHA workplace air quality standards:

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2010/09/new-st-louis-aq-study-published-by.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2007/11/johns-hopkins-air-quality-testing-of.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2007/04/bmj-published-air-quality-test-results.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2004/04/american-cancer-society-test-results.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2006/02/air-quality-testing-and-secondhand.html

http://cleanairquality.blogspot.com/2008/03/british-medical-journal-who-conclude.html

Man dies of esophageal cancer after chewing Nicorette for 5 years:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/022603/new_1352450.shtml