"Carcinogen and Nicotine Exposure in Hospitality Workers Before and After the State Comprehensive Smoking Ban"

"Hope or Hazard: What the Research Tells Us About Potential Reduced-Exposure Tobacco Products"


Throughout the past several years, loose regulation over the marketing claims of potentially reduced-exposure tobacco products (PREPs) has allowed manufacturers to advertise these products as "reduced exposure" or "reduced risk" with inferences made by the consumer that they are "safer" or "less harmful" than traditional cigarettes. To take action against such potentially deceptive practices, attorneys general have reportedly called for stricter regulation of PREPs' marketing claims, and several representatives in the US Senate and House of Representatives are proposing that the US Food and Drug Administration regulate tobacco products. In efforts to contribute targeted, evidence-based data regarding PREPs, scientists at the University of Minnesota Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (UMN TTURC) published "Hope or Hazard: What Research Tells Us About Potentially Reduced-Exposure Tobacco Products." The report is a compilation of the most up-to-date research on the harmful nature of and exposure to harmful chemicals in these products.

"Hope or Hazard" (1) describes the current state of science regarding PREPs, (2) comments on whether the marketing claims about PREPs are supported by current published scientific literature, and (3) outlines what we need to know about PREPs in order to assess the claims made about (or the actual harm reduction offered by) these products.

In light of the independent scientific evidence UMN TTURC and other institutions have gathered (most of which is discussed in this report), we have concluded that (1) conveying accurate data to consumers is essential for them to make sound decisions about their use of tobacco products, including PREPs, (2) government regulation will help ensure that standards are developed to monitor and hopefully reduce the toxins in these and other tobacco products, and (3) cessation remains the only known way to reduce tobacco-related deaths and disease.

Read a press release about the "Hope or Hazard" report at http://www.cancer.umn.edu/news/releases/2005/
release050405.html