The World Health Organization (WHO) has denied that it has
recommended Ruyan, a Chinese product claimed to be effective in
helping people quit smoking.
Ruyan, meaning cigarette-like in Chinese, is made up of a
cigarette pipe and "smoking balls," which act as substitutes for
cigarettes.
It was promoted as the WHO-recommended way to stop smoking, and
raked in more than one billion yuan (US$125 million) in domestic
sales last year.
An official with the WHO's Beijing office told the People's
Daily that the therapy behind the product -- nicotine
replacement therapy (NRT) -- was possible, but not the best way to
quit smoking.
"The WHO never recommends any specific product for the public,
nor will it recommend Ruyan," he was quoted as saying.
Ruyan came under fire after the Beijing Times reported
that each ball contains 18 milligrams of nicotine, far higher than
the average 1.2 milligram in a cigarette.
Its producer argued that nicotine is only addictive, but not
pathogenic, while the carbon monoxide and tar produced by
cigarettes caused diseases.
However, his claim has been refuted by Liu Yunqing, a professor
at the school of basic medical sciences of Zhengzhou University in
central China's Henan Province.
"Although nicotine is not carcinogenic, it can quicken the
growth of cancer," Liu told Chengdu Business newspaper. "It can
trigger heart disease, arteriosclerosis and strokes, and a
milligram of nicotine can kill a white rat."
Yang Gonghuan, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease
Control and Prevention, stressed that NRT was not widely used and
it should be strictly supervised.
"The substitutes for cigarettes and other tobacco products are
only allowed to have a very low and restricted nicotine content,"
Yang said.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has
already taken samples of Ruyan from the market for safety tests and
the results will be released by the end of this year.
(Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2006)
