title: Monitoring tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines and nicotine in novel smokeless tobacco products: findings from round II of the new product watch.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Analysis of novel smokeless tobacco products purchased in Round I of the New Product Watch (NPW)-a national tobacco monitoring network-demonstrated that some tobacco constituents vary not only across various brands but also regionally and over time within the same product. In this study, we analyzed snus and dissolvable tobacco products that were purchased in Round II of the NPW.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines (TSNA) and nicotine in snus and dissolvable tobacco products that were purchased in various regions of the country during the spring and summer of 2011. The results were compared against the Round I data, across different U.S. regions, and among products.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 216 samples were received from different states representing 6 regions of the country. Compared with the previous analyses, TSNA levels increased significantly in Marlboro and Camel Snus and some dissolvable Camel products. The levels of unprotonated nicotine in Marlboro Snus and Camel Snus in this study were not different from Round I but varied significantly by regions; the differences between the highest and the lowest average regional levels were ~3.2-fold in Marlboro Snus ~1.7-fold in Camel Snus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that some novel smokeless tobacco products contain TSNA at the levels found in the conventional moist snuff. Observation of regional variations in unprotonated nicotine content in both Round I and Round II of NPW suggest that manufacturers may tailor the levels of this constituent consistently to different regions.
authors.affiliation: Division of Environmental Health Sciences and Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; stepa011@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stepanov
authors.affiliation: Center for Survey Research, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA;
authors.forename: Lois
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Biener
authors.affiliation: Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN;
authors.forename: Katrina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yershova
authors.affiliation: Center for Survey Research, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA;
authors.forename: Amy L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Nyman
authors.affiliation: Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN;
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bliss
authors.affiliation: Tobacco Control Research Branch, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD;
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parascandola
authors.affiliation: Masonic Cancer Center and Tobacco Research Programs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: Dorothy K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Hatsukami
mesh_terms: D009538:Nicotine / Q000032:analysis*; D009602:Nitrosamines / Q000032:analysis*; D014030:Tobacco, Smokeless / Q000032:analysis*; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D009602:Nitrosamines; D009538:Nicotine