Canada: Imperial Tobacco To Test Market Smokeless Product Banned In Europe

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Article Date: 13 Sep 2007 - 17:00 PDT

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Imperial Tobacco Canada have announced that they will test market a new type of smokeless tobacco called snus.

Benjamin Kemball, president and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada, said the powdered tobacco product will be sold at 230 retail outlets in Edmonton in the coming months to determine whether it might be successful with consumers.

There is also concern about the way that the product could be marketed in Canada. Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst for the Canadian Cancer Society, said companies have targeted young people with advertising campaigns to expand the market for chewing tobacco.

"It has been in publications with a high readership among young people, and they have had candy and fruit flavours that are attractive to this age group. A very important source for the tobacco industries growth is to target children, and they know it," Cunningham said.

"Their commercial interest is in expanding the market, or slowing the decline of the market," he said.

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