New to the Bowling Green market is a cigarette containing genetically modified tobacco that allows smokers to choose their level of nicotine.
The cigarettes, called Quest, are a product of Vector Tobacco Inc., which is headed by CEO Bennet LeBow. LeBow was the first tobacco CEO to settle smoking litigation in 1996 as well as acknowledge the addictive nature of cigarettes and the serious health problems they can cause.
“The purpose of this product is to help people get to a nicotine-free environment, where they can have zero nicotine in their system,” LeBow stated in a recent press release. “Then they can decide what to do from that point forward.”
While Quest cigarettes are intended to lower the level of nicotine intake, Vector makes no claims that the cigarette reduces carbon monoxide or other cancer-causing agents. Instead, the consumer is given three levels of Quest cigarettes to choose from, each level containing less nicotine than the first.
Level 1 has 17 percent less nicotine than an average light cigarette. Level 2 has 58 percent less, and level 3 is practically nicotine-free.
Vector has invested $15 million on advertising for Quest in seven Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states, including Ohio. Quest is not yet sold at every cigarette retailer in Ohio but can be found at Butt’s in Bowling Green.
Tony Martinez, the general manager of Butt’s for over two years, has been selling Quest cigarettes for the past three to four weeks. At Butts, Quest cigarettes are currently priced at $3.69, which is the state minimum.
“Level 3, the nicotine-free level, has been selling better than the other two,” Martinez said.
A 2000 U.S. Supreme Court ruling said Vector cannot claim Quest is a smoking-cessation product. LeBow, however, is currently providing data to the Food and Drug Administration in hopes of promoting Quest as a smoking-cessation product similar to that of the nicotine patch.
Martinez said he does not believe Quest cigarettes are supposed to help the smoker quit. He said the promotion of Quest “may be somewhat misleading to the general public.”
Julie Hoen, a graduate assistant at the University Wellness Connection, fears Quest cigarettes will be seen as a “safe cigarette” and as an alternative to smoking-cessation products. “What Quest is doing is false advertising. There is no safe way to smoke a cigarette,” Hoen said. “These cigarettes will have less tar in them, but the cancer-causing agents are still there.”
The general public is likely to be greatly divided over the issue of Quest and some are likely to embrace the idea of viewing Quest as a smoking-cessation product.
Joe Davis, a sophomore and smoker of two years, said he is intrigued by the product. “I tried them,” Davis said. “They are not what I am looking for right now, but if I was ever trying to quit I would definitely switch over.”
Davis said he believes Quest would work better than smoking-cessation products such as the patch or gum because the smoker can still smoke and eventually wean themselves from cigarettes altogether.
“It would be easier to cut down by using Quest cigarettes then to go ‘cold turkey,'” Davis said.
Hoen and other Wellness Connection employees are nervous for students such as Davis, who view Quest as a possible way to quit smoking.
“The Wellness Connection believes in giving up cigarettes completely, not switching to one with a lower nicotine level,” Hoen said. She stressed the way to quit smoking is to investigate options such as the patch, gum and Zyban, a prescription drug that helps curb nicotine cravings.
