A Chinese product that purports to be an effective means of helping people quit smoking may be harmful to people's health because it contains an excessive amount of nicotine, according to media reports.

The product named RUYAN, meaning cigarette-like in Chinese, is made up of a cigarette pipe and "smoking balls", which act as substitutes for cigarettes and contain high concentrations of nicotine.

According to the Beijing Times, RUYAN contains 18 milligrams of nicotine per ball, far higher than the average 1.2 milligram in a cigarette.

The product was awarded a safety certificate in 2004 from the Chinese Association on Smoking and Health, according to the People's Daily.

A staff member with the association who refused to be named, was quoted as saying that the product had actually failed the initial safety check-up. However, it was granted a certificate because the association believed the product could help people quit smoking and the therapy behind the product - Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) - had been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The association had urged the company to undergo more safety tests but had received no response, the staff member said, adding that the authentication would expire next year.

Miao Nan, vice president and spokesman with RUYAN's producer, Beijing SBT Technology & Development Co. Ltd, told Xinhua that the reports were "malicious and misguided". He said the company had sent a letter from its lawyers to the Beijing Times and could take further legal action.

"People actually take in less nicotine when using the product, and the Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is a highly recommended way to quit smoking," said Miao.

"If a person consumes a RUYAN smoking ball with 18 milligrams of nicotine, he will feel as if he has smoked 20 cigarettes which contain 24 milligrams of nicotine in total," he said.

"So, the nicotine content is lower in RUYAN than in cigarettes. We offer smoking balls with differing nicotine strengths ranging from 18 milligrams to zero," Miao added.

Disagreements remain over the direct effects of nicotine on smokers. "Nicotine is only addictive, not pathogenic, which has been proved by scientists," said Miao Nan.

However his claim has been rubbished by Liu Yunqing, a professor with 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 cancers," Liu told Chengdu Business newspaper. "It can trigger heart diseases, arteriosclerosis and strokes, and a milligram of nicotine can kill a white rat."

Zhang Bin, an official with the Ministry of Health, told the People's Daily, "Although NRT is recommended by the WHO, nicotine is a dangerous chemical and must be strictly supervised. We have asked the producer to send RUYAN to health agencies for safety and toxicity tests according to relevant laws and regulations."

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has already taken samples of RUYAN from the market and the results will be released by the end of this year.

It remains to be seen whether the controversy will have an adverse effect on product sales. Sales of the Ruyan have exceeded 1 billion yuan, plus 200 million yuan worth of contracts overseas, according to company figures released last month. The product was given a "National Innovation for Public Good" award last weekend.

"We can't guarantee its 100 percent effectiveness," the company website says. "It also has to do with individual willpower."

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2006)