Put This In Your Pipe and Smoke It: WSJ Prints Positive Tobacco Piece

Big Tobacco typically takes a beating in the press, so the positive March 27 Wall Street Journal story about smokeless tobacco was a surprise.

According to the Journal, people trying to kick the smoking habit might try dipping instead because it poses a "substantially reduced health risk compared with smoking."

"Low-nitrosamine smokeless tobacco poses 10% or less of the health risks of cigarettes, according to various studies, including a 2004 National Cancer Institute-funded article," the Journal wrote.

The Journal quoted Michael Thun of the American Cancer Society who said, "There's no question that switching to spit tobacco and quitting tobacco altogether are both far less lethal than continuing to smoke."

Writer Kevin Helliker did not include comment from the tobacco companies, but explained that the industry typically does not comment on scientific reports. Perhaps, because what they say, can and will be held against them?