Could Candy Tobacco Products Lead to Increased Child Poisoning?
Monday, April 19th, 2010
Thousands of young children are accidentally poisoned by tobacco products each year in the U.S., and according to researchers, new dissolvable tobacco products that resemble candy might pose an even greater risk.
A new study of the reports from the United States poison control centers between 2006 and 2008 show that 13,705 children younger than 6 were accidentally poisoned by tobacco products. Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco were to blame for most of the incidents.
Babies and small children are extremely susceptible to nicotine, even as little as 1 milligram can cause nausea and vomiting. Larger doses could lead to weakness, convulsions or potentially fatal respiratory arrest.
According to the researchers, there is a new concern that a new dissolvable melt-in-your-mouth candy flavored nicotine pellets may pose an even greater risk.
he products are too new to have been behind any of the poisonings in the current study. However, Connolly and his colleagues did do a chemical analysis of one — Camel Orbs, tobacco pellets with a Tic-Tac-like appearance introduced last year by R.J. Reynolds.
The researchers found that the pellets contained a greater proportion of “free” nicotine than the norm for cigarettes or dipping tobacco.
Free nicotine is more quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, raising the possibility that it could more toxic to a child than other tobacco products are.
The Camel Orb packaging is said to be child-resistant; however, Connolly noted that the packaging is tricky enough that many users might prefer to dispense a number of pellets at a time, leaving some lying around.
He cautioned against doing that in any area where a young child might see them. One pellet contains about 1 mg of nicotine, so might cause nausea, Connolly said. “But if a child gets a few of them,” he added, “that could be very serious.”
In my opinion, parents should not be smoking around their children, and should definitely be responsible enough to make sure to keep it out of the reach of their children. My advice would be to talk with your doctor about your need to quit and see if he can prescribe you a drug such as Chantix or Zyban to help you kick the habit. You could also try a nicotine replacement option like: Commit lozenges, Nicorette patches, or Nicorette gum.
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