Action on Smoking and Health A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions    Search  | Info About  | ash.org | To Join |  Email Page To Comment or Read Other Members' Comments, Click Here

Excerpts from: Pharmacia's Nicorette to be sold OTC in Japan

By (Reuters)  Yahoo - Pharmacia's Nicorette to be sold OTC in Japan [06/28/01]

Pharmacia Corp  said on Wednesday Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has approved the sale of
Nicorette gum as an over-the-counter product to stop smoking.

Nicorette gum is the first tobacco dependence product to be approved for over-the-counter (OTC) marketing in Japan.

Pharmacia had said previously that Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd would distribute the over-the-counter Nicorette gum in
Japan. Pharmacia K.K., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pharmacia, will manufacture Nicorette gum and market the OTC brand
in Japan.

According to a 1999 Japanese Health Ministry report, 52.7 percent of men and 11.6 percent of women were smokers. Also
the latest Health Ministry data showed lung and bronchial cancer replaced stomach cancer as the number one cause of cancer
deaths in Japan in 1999.