Under pressure to maintain sales, entirely new tobacco products, and some old ones in new trappings, have been tested on overseas and Australian markets. They have principally attempted to address the non-smokers' apprehensions about passive smoking, smokers' concerns about smoking in public and about their personal health, or attempted to minimise taxation rates by manipulating the weight of tobacco per cigarette.
Smokeless tobacco, generally used in the form suitable for chewing or sucking enables nicotine delivery directly from the tobacco through the lining of the mouth: the tobacco is not ignited. Smokeless tobacco products have been widely used for many years, particularly in the Scandinavian countries and the United States, and were relaunched in easy-to-use sachets during the 1980s. The products were promoted as suitable for use in environments where smoking is either hazardous, prohibited or inconvenient,(97) and became popular in parts of the UK and the US, especially among boys and young men.
One brand, Skoal Bandits, was test marketed by Wills (in association with US Tobacco) in Queensland. With the advertising message 'For the times when you can't smoke', trade literature supporting the product launch described how Skoals were intended to supplement, rather than replace, cigarette use.(98) The launch met limited consumer demand,(99) and the products have since been banned by the Federal Government (see Chapter 9 for full discussion).
A chewing gum variant on smokeless tobacco, 'Masterpiece Tobacs', was briefly tested by the Pinkerton Tobacco Company in the United States before being declared unsafe by the US Food and Drug Administration, and withdrawn. The product comprised hexagon-shaped lozenges of bound tobacco in peppermint and cinnamon flavours.(100) A tobacco toothpaste, containing ground snuff, has also been tested.(101)
A variety of new cigarettes, with reduced or no smoke by-products, have been developed in response to concern about environmental tobacco smoke, but none has proven successful to date. Most recently, RJR's Premier (which had brief exposure to the US market but was never available in Australia) was withdrawn, not only because smokers disliked the flavour, but, ironically, because it had an unpleasant aroma which tended to spread well beyond the smoker.(102) There was also concern that this device could be easily adapted to facilitate use of the drug crack.(103) Research into alternative nicotine delivery systems has continued, with companies patenting a variety of cigarette-like devices with the capacity to provide nicotine accompanied by some kind of tobacco flavouring, with or without combustion.(104,105,106)
Because of the addictive and unsafe nature of nicotine, even in the absence of tobacco, inventions such as RJR's Premier remain suspect.(107) It is also likely that they would attract new users, discourage quitting, and encourage relapse.(108)
Alternative nicotine delivery systems which cannot be defined as tobacco products may fail to meet product safety standards, and hence be banned. (Tobacco has traditionally been exempted from meeting the usual safety requirements -- see Chapter 5, Section 1).
Other modifications to the standard cigarette, designed to the reduce smokers' exposure to the harmful contents of cigarette smoke, have been patented. One is a process of treating tobacco leaf with compounds intended to inhibit or block the action of some carcinogenic compounds in the smoker's lungs.(109) Another involves the use of vitamin C in cigarette filters to reduce formaldehyde content in inhaled smoke.(110) It is not known whether these inventions are practical, nor whether interest has been shown by tobacco manufacturing companies; nor what, if any, health benefit could be expected to accrue from their adoption.
Rothmans (Vogue Superslims 20s) and Philip Morris (Elle) both introduced low tar, slimmer cigarettes in packs of 20 in late 1988. The smaller packs and thinner cigarettes were no doubt intended to confer aesthetic benefits in a community increasingly aware of the health dangers of smoking. The deliberate use of names associated with women's fashion magazines would also have been intended to enhance brand image. However the brands were not successful, mustering a combined market share of less than 1.5% in 1990.(6) Elle has apparently been withdrawn, no longer appearing in the price lists of the Australian Retail Tobacconist.(35)
In Germany, packs of Camel 'mini-filters' measuring 68 millimetres in length, 15 millimetres less than standard size cigarettes, have recently been marketed. Although the manufacturer, RJ Reynolds, has not publicly stated the rationale behind the launch, it has been suggested that the mini cigarettes would appeal to the 'hassled' smoker who is subject to smoking restrictions at work or in public places. The smaller cigarette provides an adequate nicotine 'fix', without the smoker having to waste the ends of their longer length, more expensive cigarettes.(111)
Philip Morris is developing a cigarette designed to deliver nicotine at an accelerated rate, allowing the smoker to obtain the same amount of nicotine contained in a standard length cigarette with only half the amount of puffs. The cigarette is intended to cater for smokers who, due to workplace or other smoking restrictions, require a 'quick fix'.(112)
Specially scented and flavoured cigarettes may become available; for example cigarettes with flavours such as lemon and vanilla were test marketed in the United States and Germany in the late 1980s and early 1990s.(113,114) Not only did the tobacco deliver the new flavour to the smoker, but it also produced scented smoke, by which it was intended 'to overcome most of the objections non-smokers have about the smell of burning tobacco'.(102) Research continues into a wide variety of flavours, including spearmint and chocolate.(105)
Enhanced flavouring is also important, to provide a full flavoured tobacco 'kick' while simultaneously reducing tar levels. Continuing to deliver acceptable taste may be one of the flavouring industry's greatest technological challenges, especially as there is increasing government, health lobby and consumer interest in additives to tobacco products.(105) See also Chapter 5, Section 8.
As noted above, milder cigarettes are a research priority for the tobacco companies. One way of delivering less tar is by using improved filtration systems. A new cigarette, Belmont 25s, was test marketed in New South Wales by Philip Morris in late 1990. The product was claimed to have 'a new twin density filter which achieves a new standard of smoking satisfaction at low delivery levels', its tar level being 2mg, the lowest on the market at that time.(115) One and 2 mg variants now hold a combined market share of around 13%.(65)
Philip Morris has patented a process intended to remove nicotine from tobacco, while still delivering flavour.(116) Given that smokers mainly use cigarettes to gain access to nicotine, it is difficult to imagine how Philip Morris could turn this invention into a marketing advantage. However in 1989 the company launched a 'de-nicotined' brand of cigarette ('Next'). According to data collected by the US Federal Trade Commission, the cigarette contained the same amounts of nicotine as other low nicotine brands already on the market, along with significantly higher levels of tar.(117)
The reduced levels of tar and nicotine commonly claimed by many cigarette brands may differ widely from the yields to which a smoker is exposed under real smoking conditions. See Chapter 5, Section 3 for further discussion. There is also good evidence that in the United States, the cigarette industry has manipulated nicotine levels with the deliberate intent to create and sustain addiction in smokers(118) (see Chapter 11, Section 4).