Seattle (ChatterShmatter) – There is a great deal of concern in the health world surrounding new types of smokeless tobacco that come in the form of candy. The fear is that they will appeal to kids, and could lead to major health problems.
The focus of these major concerns revolves around a product from R.J. Reynolds known as Camel Orbs.
These are basically tobacco candy, as they are nicotine tablets that are flavored to taste like mint, cinnamon, etc.
The idea is to allow smokers to get their nicotine fix in places where smoking is not allowed.
Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health as well as others fear that this could lead to kids being addicted to nicotine.
It could also lead to nicotine poisoning as kids could take these by accident thinking they were candy.
The company has pushed this idea further to also sell Camel Sticks, another form of smokeless tobacco that appears as a stick of candy.
There is also great concern from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The company has stated that they do not market to kids in any way, and also ship all products in child-proof casings.
It is clear though that if a child ingested the candy, it could lead to severe poisoning or even death.
Health concerns have been published in the online edition of Pediatrics.
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