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The Massachusetts health department has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc.'s claims that its unconventional Eclipse cigarette is potentially less hazardous for smokers, citing new research that shows Eclipse contains higher levels of some cancer-causing chemicals than two regular "ultralight" brands.
In a letter to FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky, the state health commissioner, Howard K. Koh, said data from a series of tests commissioned by his agency and performed by a private laboratory "indicate that the claims being made for Eclipse are not properly substantiated." Dr. Koh also is urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and state attorneys general to take action against Reynolds, which is promoting Eclipse in a Dallas test market as the "next best choice" to quitting smoking.
Among other things, the tests found smoke from Eclipse cigarettes contains higher levels of two carcinogens -- acrolein and a tobacco-specific nitrosamine known as NNK -- than smoke from the ultralight brands Now and Carlton. Eclipse also was found to have higher levels of three other carcinogens -- benzo(a)pyrene, acetaldehyde, and another nitrosamine known as NNN -- than Now. Eclipse has lower levels of those chemicals than Carlton. . .
Critics of the tobacco industry say the Massachusetts study highlights the need for federal regulation to establish standards for the development, testing, advertising and marketing of less hazardous cigarettes.
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On Wednesday, October 4, the American Heart Association, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other public health organizations will release the results of a new study contradicting R.J. Reynolds' claims that its new Eclipse cigarette presents smokers with less risk of cancer and other deadly diseases. Contrary to RJR's claims, the study found that Eclipse exposes smokers to higher amounts of cancer-causing chemicals than other brands already on the market.
In letters to the U. S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission, The CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS and its partner organizations call on both agencies to take strong actions against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJRTC) for making unsubstantiated and potentially lethal health claims for its Eclipse cigarettes.
The letter to Jane Henney, M.D., Commissioner of the FDA, points out that RJR makes various claims touting the health benefits derived from smoking Eclipse. “These claims have not been subject to proper scientific review,” the letter states. . .
The letter to Robert Pitofsky, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, calls for the FTC to take action against RJRTC for false and misleading advertising of Eclipse. “The advertisements falsely and misleadingly imply that the Eclipse product is safer than traditional tobacco products. However, RJRTC has not substantiated and cannot substantiate any claims that Eclipse presents less health risk or does not lead to increased use of tobacco products.”
Meyers says the government should step in "both because this is not a traditional tobacco product and because RJR is making unprecedented health claims concerning this product. This is a very dangerous advertising campaign that says to smokers that there is an alternative to quitting that significantly reduces health risks. The clear impact will be to provide a safe haven to some people who might otherwise have quit, believing they had no other realistic choice." . .
But Moskowitz maintains that tests done by a company-appointed panel of nine scientists and doctors show that Eclipse may reduce the risk of smoking. Test results have been given to the FDA and FTC and will be published later this year in an established science journal, he says.
Those tests can't be trusted, Meyers says, because RJR "collected the scientists and collected the tests, with no independent government oversight and review." Only such government-supervised tests can provide trustworthy results, he says. . .
You can also go to its more deluxe Eclipse site, but be prepared to fork over a lot of personal information and your credit card number (they say it's for identification purposes).
The nation's top public-health organizations have asked the Food and Drug Administration to regulate Eclipse, the product that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is marketing as a less-risky cigarette.
Twenty-two groups, including the American Cancer Society and American Medical Association, sent an Aug. 1 petition to the FDA stating that Eclipse is a nicotine-delivery system, not a cigarette, making it eligible for government regulation. Cigarettes are exempt from any regulation. The FDA should therefore oversee its sale, marketing and distribution, especially since RJR began saying in April that Eclipse is less hazardous to smokers' health, the petition says.
''I'm concerned people will switch to Eclipse falsely believing it's been proven it will reduce their risk of disease,'' said Matthew Myers, the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, who wrote the letter. ''It is precisely these types of claims the FDA protects the American public against.'' . .
''The claim that Eclipse may present smokers with less risk of cancer, chronic bronchitis and possibly emphysema is fully supported by extensive scientific research,'' Moskowitz said.
The claim that Eclipse may present smokers with less risk of cancer, chronic bronchitis and possibly emphysema is fully supported by extensive scientific research. . . The calls for this (FDA) regulation come from the belief of some groups that 45 million adult Americans who choose to smoke should not have the option of purchasing and smoking cigarettes that may present less risk.RJR spokesman Seth Moskowitz, on health groups' petition for FDA regulation of Eclipse. Zawada, A., <I>Groups petition FTC (sic) for Eclipse regulation</I>
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco plans to begin marketing its Eclipse brand -- the company's low-smoke, "reduced risk" cigarette -- in Metroplex retail stores soon, the company's top marketing executive said yesterday.
With most cigarette advertising restricted or barred, Eclipse is suffering from disappointingly low product awareness even among smokers in the Metroplex, which has been a test market for the cigarette since April 19, said David Iauco, R.J. Reynolds' senior vice president for marketing.
RJR has developed a low-smoke brand that may not only reduce the risk of disease but also dramatically lower the volume of second[hand] smoke for everyone else. What do the "activists" do? Lash out with "an angry blast."
Too bad such "activists" don't show similar concern for partial birth abortions.
Utah pulmonologist Richard Kanner wouldn't recommend smokers switch to the new, so-called "safer" cigarette from the nation's second-largest tobacco company, "but it certainly isn't going to be worse than the cigarettes they currently have on the market," he said.
Kanner, professor of medicine at the University of Utah and head of its Lung Health Study Center, would have to have more evidence of the smokeless cigarette's effectiveness before he gave it a thumbs-up.
The company's decision to market Eclipse cigarettes entirely through an R.J. Reynolds Internet Web site and an 800 number sidesteps the state's efforts to keep the product out of the hands of minors. Reynolds says it has its own screening process to make certain purchasers are adults. But counter sales, with stiff penalties for violations, would have provided better safeguards. . .
But the bottom line in the overall presentation of Eclipse remains the same - regardless of how many scientific studies have been wrapped around the packaging.
All cigarettes pose health problems, including Eclipse. This product isn't the best answer to the estimated 400,000 Americans who die each year from smoking-related illnesses.
Re: "New cigarette still unsafe," Letters, April 30, by Cass Wheeler, CEO of the American Heart Association.
There are 45 million Americans who choose to smoke. Should they have to wait - perhaps for years - for a cigarette that may present them with less risk of cancer, chronic bronchitis and possibly emphysema than other cigarettes? . .
Our advertising makes it clear that Reynolds Tobacco does not claim that Eclipse presents less risk of cardiovascular disease or complications with pregnancy. There is some evidence suggesting that, compared to other cigarettes, Eclipse may pose less risk to smokers of developing cardiovascular disease. However, other evidence suggests that smokers who already have this disease may further increase their health risk by switching to Eclipse. We advise smokers to consult their doctors. . .
We welcome review of our scientific conclusions. In fact, the Eclipse Web site ( www.eclipse.ilrt.com) is designed in part for the medical and scientific communities.
The Federal Trade Commission is responsible for ensuring that the claims we make about Eclipse in our advertising are accurate, and we are prepared to substantiate the claims. We welcome review of our scientific conclusions. In fact, the Eclipse Web site (www.eclipse.rjrt.com) is designed in part for the medical and scientific communities.
Maybe Reynolds has something. Maybe it doesn't. But shouldn't a potential Most troubling, the ads may convince some people to switch rather than quit, or to take up smoking in the first place. Clearly, that's not in the public interest.
Unfortunately, we've been here before, and the public paid the price. . .
Maybe Reynolds has something. Maybe it doesn't. But shouldn't a potential breakthrough of such magnitude be weighed by an independent authority?
And shouldn't a cigarette face at least as much government oversight as a bran flake?