I don’t know what Jeff Stier is thinking, but using snus does not eliminate the risk of lung cancer (“Council Votes To Boost Butts,” PostOpinion, Oct. 16).
Smokers who use smokeless tobacco as a supplemental source of nicotine in an effort to quit smoking actually increase their risk of lung cancer.
Stier’s assertion that banning flavored tobacco will not protect kids is also a smokescreen. Flavored-tobacco products are the “pied piper” of the industry, aimed at nothing more than luring teens into life-long addiction by masking the taste of tobacco with candy, fruit and liquor flavors.
Few adults use these products and even fewer will notice when they are removed from store shelves.
Smokeless tobacco, snus and e-cigarettes are not proven methods for quitting. The best way to quit smoking is not to start, but nico- tine-replacement therapy, when paired with a program to help change behavior, is a proven cessation method.
Clare Bradley
Chief Medical Officer
American Cancer
Society Eastern Division
Lake Success
***
Stier makes the faulty argument that the City Council’s ban on flavored-tobacco products will somehow make it harder for smokers to quit.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The target audience for flavored products is the youth, and they are the ones most using them.
The American Lung Association in New York offers many options for smokers who are looking to quit. We strongly support this law so that another generation of children won’t suffer the painful health consequences that far too often result from tobacco addiction.
Michael Seilback
American Lung
Association of New York
VP, Public Policy &
Communications
Manhattan