Problem/Objective: In 2006, several US tobacco companies began to test market snus, a product that originated in Sweden. One entry, Camel Snus, was introduced in Austin, Texas, and Portland, Oregon. The purpose of this study was to conduct testing of message concepts for a counter-advertising campaign, to learn about the experiences that young adults and adolescents may have had with the product, and, their impressions of the test market campaign.

Methods: Twelve focus groups were conducted in Portland, Oregon. Eight groups were conducted with adults (smokers and former smokers), 18-20 years of age; four groups were conducted with adolescents, 15-17 years of age. All sessions were video/audio recorded, and transcribed.

Results: The majority of the participants were aware of the product, although some did not understand what it was. Many reported no exposure to the campaign. None of the youth and few of the adults had tried the product. Nine message concepts were tested, two of which drew strong support from both age groups.

Conclusions: There are several messages that might be successful if incorporated into a counter advertising campaign. We did not find any evidence of interest in trying this product by those who had not tried snus. Participants who tried snus had a negative opinion of it.