Big Tobacco Turns to Rooibos Tea to Counter Upcoming Flavor Ban
Big Tobacco Turns to Rooibos Tea to Counter Upcoming Flavor Ban
Rumney E. 17 Oct 2023 Reuters Health Information
“Big Tobacco firms, including British American Tobacco, are selling heat sticks made from nicotine-infused substances such as rooibos tea, countering an incoming European Union ban on flavored heated tobacco products.
While the sticks mark a new way to inhale the addictive drug, health experts warn that their safety is unclear.
BAT’s zero-tobacco sticks are not subject to current EU tobacco rules, the company told Reuters.
That means it can sell rooibos sticks in flavors like peppermint and tropical fruit even after a ban on flavored heated tobacco products is implemented across the bloc later this month.”
“The obvious advantage these new products should provide is a way to keep menthol and flavor varieties on the EU market,” Jefferies analyst Owen Bennett said in a note.”
Comment: Using nicotine-infused tea to keep flavored nicotine available to customers shows the tobacco industry’s determination to block flavor restrictions on nicotine products.
https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/997380
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Stephen Hamann
