An alternative to smoking?

The two US doctors who wrote the article analysed two studies published in The Lancet that concluded that people who use snus are about 10 times less likely to develop lung cancer than smokers, the Associated Press reported.

Currently, all European Union members other than Sweden prohibit the use of snus. Smokeless tobacco is legal in the United States and Swedish snus is currently being test-marketed in at least two US cities.

"We should not delay in allowing snus to compete with cigarettes for market share," wrote the article authors, Dr Jonathon Foulds of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Dr Lynn Kozlowski of the University at Buffalo.

"The banning or exaggerated opposition to snus in cigarette-rife environments is not sound public health policy," they argued.

While the makers of Swedish snus say their product is safer than other kinds of smokeless tobacco, snus does contain about 30 carcinogens, the AP reported. – (HealthDayNews)

May 2007