SPECIAL COMMUNICATION Smokeless tobacco in Canada: deterring market development

Objectives—This article examines those factors that make Canada an attractive market for American and Swedish producers of smokeless tobacco products. American smokeless tobacco manufacturers face a less than desirable future in their home market and apparently are looking beyond their borders for opportunities elsewhere. Although margins in the United States are still high, industry unit sales are flat and there is growing competition for market shares. Tax increases seem likely, and negative public and interest group attitudes towards the industry’s targeting of young people are creating an increasingly diYcult political and legal climate for tobacco companies. The Canadian market seems a natural choice for expansion. This article examines those factors that make Canada an attractive market for American and Swedish producers of smokeless tobacco products. Data sources—A review of the literature identified demographic, cultural, and marketing variables related to the uptake and continuation of smokeless tobacco use. Government and industry data on production, marketing, and consumption of smokeless tobacco products are presented. Methods—The Canadian and American markets are compared in terms of prevalence, consumption per capita, and marketing practices. Lessons to be learned from the well-orchestrated development of the American market in the past 30 years are examined. Canadian tobacco regulations are described. Strategies by which the increased exploitation of the Canadian smokeless tobacco market can be deterred are discussed. Conclusions—A long-term, independently financed strategy built around a national smokeless tobacco de-marketing organisation with a constellation of private local institutions is suggested as a means of combating smokeless tobacco marketing eVorts. (Tobacco Control 1999;8:411–420)