Clearing the Air on CigArrest Data
As a respected and growing member of the Orange County business community, we must go on record (regarding) the article on CigArrest (“Stop Smoking Product,” March 21), particularly those remarks relating to lobeline sulfate, which is not even a critical component of CigArrest or our company’s success.
The CigArrest system is successful because it works. It works not because of lobeline sulfate but because it attacks the multiple components of the smoking habit: psychological, physical and chemical addictions, as defined by the surgeon general.
CigArrest’s days are not numbered. If a (regulatory) change in lobeline occurred, we would only be required to change the language describing lobeline. If lobeline were no longer approved for human consumption, the active ingredient would be changed. The (Food and Drug Administration) has no authority over the use of the brand name, the design of the system or components not requiring FDA approval.
We have over 10,000 documented unsolicited testimonials. This (represents) a higher level of success than any clinic’s.
Nicorette (a prescription chewing gum containing nicotine) is approved by the FDA only if used with a smoking-cessation education program. In fact, Nicorette is adding an audiocassette fashioned after ours.
If your paper wanted to report on the status of lobeline sulfate, you could have positioned the article as an industry story, not an indictment of CigArrest--a product that is helping thousands of smokers quit.
Any smoking cessation program that works at all--whether over-the-counter, prescription, clinical or hypnotic--is valuable. Incidentally, nothing has more than about a 15% documented effective rate.
CigArrest will have a very successful life beyond the longevity of any chemical. It is one of the best-selling health and beauty aid products in the nation’s leading retailers. Since it has been available and used for over 3 years, much of the success is (from) word-of-mouth advertising from satisfied users.
As a final note, you know that cigarettes or smokeless tobacco would never receive FDA approval based on current medical and clinical facts.
We trust we will soon see more similarly critical reporting on the tobacco industry, where profiteering from an unquestionably lethal product finances one of our most powerful and profitable corporate sectors.
CHARLES G. SLEICHTER
Chief executive and president
BUD PALMER
Chairman
Advantage Entertainment Inc.
Costa Mesa
Send letters to Orange County Business Editor, Los Angeles Times, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, Calif., 92626. Please include full name, address and phone number.
