FDA Panel Asks for More Information on Dissolvable Tobacco Products

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel said Friday it needs more information about the marketing of the smokeless tobacco product called snus, before it can make recommendations about new dissolvable tobacco products. The panel said it wanted to know whether snus should be included in the definition of dissolvable tobacco products, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The FDA panel met last week to discuss the risks and potential marketing restrictions on new dissolvable tobacco products such as Camel Orbs and Ariva. Critics of these products say that, with packaging and flavoring that appeals to children, dissolvable tobacco may attract teens, who can easily use the products in secret.

The panel will meet again in November to discuss dissolvable tobacco. The FDA is expected to release a report on health, safety and regulation of these products in March 2012.

In June, a group of U.S. senators asked the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products to regulate dissolvable tobacco products that they said poses health risks, especially for children.