captioning funded by cbs and ford-- built for the road ahead. >> pelley: genes, as a result of them, you've inherited some of your family's finest quality along with predispositions to deadly diseases. you probably know that science has made giant leaps in detecting and treating some of those illnesses, but what you probably don't know is that at the same time, biotech companies have been patenting human genes. that's right, whether you like it or not, a vital part of who you are may now belong to someone else.

>> simon: you've called this the greatest aid effort in modern times. >> absolutely. there's never been a rescue mission of this magnitude that has produced such magnanimous results. >> simon: it's an american mission of mercy started by president bush that is saving millions of lives and generating goodwill around the world. >> the impression that people in africa have is that america is no longer the world's policeman, it is now africa's friend. >> there's no sitting or anything so no one knows you are doing it. >> stahl: he uses a product called snus-- a big new idea in smokeless tobacco, and the tobacco companies are banking on it. it was started in sweden where it's getting credit for helping people quit smoking even though it keeps them addicted to nicotine. what sweden has done is traded one addiction for another addiction.

>> that's true. addiction is a problem but it's less of a problem than lung cancer. >> i'm steve kroft. >> i'm leslie stahl. >> i'm bob simon. >> i'm morley safer. >> i'm lara logan. >> i'm scott pelley. those stories and andy rooney tonight on "60 minutes." >> this portion of "60 minutes" is sponsored by the alzheimer's association. [ male announcer ] you have plans... moments you're looking forward to... what if they were stolen from you? by alzheimer's. this cruel disease costs americans more than $170 billion a year, and could cripple medicare in the near future. the alzheimer's association is taking action, and has been a part of every major advancement. but we won't rest until we have a cure. you have plans... help the alzheimer's association protect them. act now, go to alz.org.

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disposition to a variety of deadly diseases. but the good news is that, since the mapping of the human genome, science has made some giant leaps in detecting and treating inherited conditions. by detecting those genes, for example, that predispose women to breast cancer, doctors can offer pre-emptive treatment. sounds simple enough, but there's a catch-- a woman may have that gene, but strange as it seems, the gene is really the property of a biotech company that's taken out a patent on it. so far, nearly 10,000 human genes have been patented. all of the patents are now in question, based on a court ruling just this past week because, as morley safer reports, whether you like it or not, under the current law, a vital part of who you are actually belongs to someone else. >> safer: lisbeth ceriani and genae girard were both diagnosed with breast cancer-- ms. girard at age 36, ms. ceriani at 42.

breast cancer at a relatively young age is often hereditary. >> lisbeth ceriani: because of my age and the disease was already very aggressive in me, they thought there is most likely a genetic component at play. >> safer: the way to find out is through a test called brac analysis. it's a blood test in which lab technicians at a company called myriad genetics examine two genes that exist in all of us. if mutations-- irregularities-- are found, it means the risk of getting breast cancer and ovarian cancer is extremely high: breast cancer, five times more likely; ovarian cancer as much as 40 times more likely. since a positive result usually means the removal of ovaries before cancer can develop, doctors told lisbeth she needed to get tested. >> ceriani: i did try to have the test done several times. >> safer: and? >> ceriani: my insurance

actually covers the test and would pay for the test, but the lab won't accept my insurance. >> safer: myriad genetics charges about $3,200 for the test, and most insurance policies do cover it. but myriad wont accept miss ceriani's plan because it won't pay the full amount. >> ceriani: i don't have the $3,200 to pay for that test, and i spent days trying to track down what is going on. if my insurance covers it, there must be someplace else i can bring this test. i mean, it's... it's a simple blood test. it's not a complicated procedure. and after all the research, i found out why, and learned myriad is the only game in town and... and they want it all. >> safer: myriad genetics controls all testing on the two breast cancer genes because they own the genes, lock, stock, and barrel. they patented them. no one else can legally test for them, or look at them, or even develop potential therapies that are based on them without myriad's consent.

when it comes to inherited breast cancer, it's myriad or nothing. just ask genae girard. since doctors suspected that her cancer was also genetic, she too got tested, and her results were positive. doctors recommended that she have a double mastectomy and have her ovaries removed. >> genae girard: which was a very tough decision. i mean, i'm still in my 30s, and this is going to change my life, whether or not i ever want to have children. and that... that was a big deal. >> safer: so she did the obvious-- sought a second opinion, another genetic sequencing from a different lab. but her doctor told her that wasn't possible. >> girard: i think myriad laboratory is a very reputable company, but i know for a fact that there's human error that exists in laboratories, and i would have felt a lot better about these decisions if i had that. >> safer: so, whether you like it or not, myriad owns that gene that's in both of you.

>> girard: yes. >> ceriani: no one invented my gene. they didn't change or alter my gene. all they're doing is looking at it. ( laughter ) it's crazy. >> safer: lori andrews agrees. she is a professor at chicago- kent college of law and has made a specialty of genetics. when we think of patents, we think of things like thomas edison and his light bulb. you know, guys who invented things. >> lori andrews: well, you're right about what the patent law was intended to do, which was to reward inventors who brought something new in the world. but the patent on human genes-- it's as if the first surgeon who took a kidney out of your body then patented the kidney. >> safer: it all started in 1980, when the supreme court ruled that a life form-- a genetically altered bacterium used to clean up oil spills-- could be patented. biotech companies saw that as an open door to patent another life form-- human genes.

since then, nearly 10,000 have been patented, nearly a third of the genes in your body and mine. lori andrews says those patents can have serious implications for health care. >> andrews: a typical gene patent says, "i own the gene. i own any mutation later found by anybody else. i own any treatment based on the gene later found by anybody else." and in this case, myriad owns breast cancer. >> safer: myriad won a fierce scientific race to identify the first breast cancer gene in 1994. soon after, they patented the discovery, and since then, the company has maintained complete control over testing and has aggressively marketed its own test. >> i found out my risk through brac analysis. >> safer: more than 400,000 women have been tested for the gene. but professor andrews says that myriad's history of patent enforcement has inhibited

research and is preventing better detection. >> andrews: here is the problem with having one company own the gene. there actually is better testing in countries that don't patent the genes. because then, lots of different pathologists and laboratories can look at those genes, and some find mutations that the myriad tests missed. >> safer: and there is the issue of cost. in most of europe and canada, where myriad's patents have been challenged or ignored, the test is given at a fraction of the $3,200 myriad charges. if the breast cancer gene was in the public domain, how much do you think it would cost for a woman to be tested? >> andrews: i think maybe $300. i've had people, geneticists, tell me they would be willing to do it for less than that. >> safer: myriad declined our interview request, but in a statement, the company says its patents have greatly advanced women's health, that myriad has encouraged research. and the company argues that there are ways for women to get second opinions, but those

second opinions do not include a full comprehensive screening. myriad is not the only company that aggressively enforces its gene patents. dr. aubrey milunsky, a world renowned geneticist, knows that firsthand. he is the head of boston university's center for human genetics. >> dr. aubrey milunsky: the detection of genes and gene defects have become critically important, because of the massive advances in technology. >> safer: and yet, you're prohibited from looking at certain genes. >> milunsky: we have been stopped from offering some 14 different tests for relatively common conditions. >> safer: stopped by whom? >> milunsky: i'm really not allowed to talk about them. i'm legally muzzled about that particular subject. >> safer: he can't talk about it, but we can. milunsky can no longer perform gene tests for disorders like muscular dystrophy, polycystic kidney disease, and for a gene

that can cause deafness. that's because a company called athena labs sent him a cease- and-desist letter when it found out he was testing people for genes they owned. >> milunsky: a gene is a natural, living thing. how... how on earth can anyone allow patenting of a gene? >> safer: he's particularly concerned because we've now reached a point where our entire genetic makeup can be examined in one relatively simple test. >> milunsky: but you may have problems, because if there is a gene within that bunch that indeed has been patented, you can't... you can't even report on it, actually. and... and the lawyers say you shouldn't even be testing it because that's infringing the patent. >> safer: but kevin noonan maintains it's those very patents that are responsible for scientific breakthroughs. he's a molecular biologist and patent lawyer who often defends the biotech industry.

>> kevin noonan: without the biotech companies, you don't have the things that give you better health in the first place. >> safer: noonan says that patents reward financial risk, and that biotech companies would not undertake the huge investment necessary if there were no economic payoff. and while he can't speak for myriad and their breast cancer genes, he believes the price they charge for their test is a fair one. >> noonan: you're not only paying that $3,000 for this particular test. but how many years did people try to find this gene and not succeed? and how many other genes have they looked at and not succeeded? that costs money. that costs investment. >> safer: this whole debate is a far cry from the days of jonas salk, who in 1955 announced he had developed a vaccine for polio. >> who owns the patent on the vaccine? >> dr. jonas salk: there is no patent. would you try to patent the sun? >> safer: he said it was like trying to patent the sun. >> noonan: yes, i know. but maybe it was a slightly

different time. today, you're going to have to have people to get their investment back. >> safer: but they're not selling cars, they're selling health. >> noonan: whether it's cars or health, there has to be a profit for some investor to invest. if we want to eliminate profit, we're talking about a different economic system. >> safer: i don't think people are talking about the elimination of profit; they're talking about reasonable cost. >> noonan: again, i think that, yes, i'd like the test to be cheaper. and when the patents expire, they will be. >> safer: the last of myriad's patents on the breast cancer genes expires in eight years, but if chris hansen has his way, that could be even sooner. he is the lead lawyer for the american civil liberties union in what could be a landmark case against myriad genetics and the u.s. patent office. the case has the support of nearly the entire medical establishment that deals with genetics. >> chris hansen: all of those people are saying, "the patents in this case hurt women's health." >> safer: hansen says that myriad's patents are

unconstitutional and should be invalidated. >> hansen: there's a longstanding patent law doctrine that says you can't patent the laws of nature and products of nature and abstract ideas. and that's what happens when you patent genes. >> safer: but what was the rationale of the patent office in approving this? >> hansen: that isolating and purifying the gene is so transformative that it makes it a different thing. >> safer: but it's still not an invention? >> hansen: they would say that by taking it out of your body and stripping away some of the pieces, they... it's no longer a product of nature. it's now an invention. we think that's nonsense. if myriad develops a new drug, a new treatment, a new test, they can get a patent and they should be able to get a patent. what they shouldn't be able to do is get a patent over the gene itself. >> safer: lisbeth ceriani and genae girard are two of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. since our interview, myriad contacted lisbeth and said she was eligible for a nonprofit program for patients who cannot

afford the test. she took the test and her results were positive. she had her ovaries removed a few weeks ago, but the anxiety caused by her genetic inheritance doesn't end there. given your genetic history, what about your daughter? >> ceriani: she will have to assume that she's at higher risk, going forward. and one way or the other, i'll make sure she's tested. >> safer: genae girard did go forward with the surgery to have her ovaries removed on the basis of the results of that single test. she still finds it hard to accept that a gene inside her own body is, essentially, the property of a corporation. >> pelley: this past week, a federal judge ruled in favor of the a.c.l.u. in its suit against myriad genetics. the judge wrote that the patents on the breast cancer genes were improperly granted because the genes are indeed products of

nature. the ruling could have enormous implications for the biotech industry. myriad genetics is appealing the decision. >> cbs moneywatch update sponsored by:. >> mitchell: good evening. the apple ipad arrived this weekend. one analyst estimates 700,000 were sold the first day. treasury secretary geithner says china must move to a more market oriented exkong rate for its currency and "clash of the titans" took the easter weekend box office. i'm russ mitch el, cbs news. down by the lake or... fishing at the shore. i'm breathing better... with spiriva. announcer: spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled maintenance treatment for both forms of copd, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

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>> reporter: as president, george w. bush did something momentous that few of you may know about, something so momentous that it is saving millions of lives and generating

good will for america around the world. millions of africans who had been dying of aids are now living with aids, thanks to the bush program. the u.s. is providing pills to more than two million people with hiv/aids, people who could never afford them and who were condemned to die. the medicine not only saves their lives, it permits them to live full lives. we went to uganda, where aids has ravaged the country, killing more than a million people, and where dr. peter mugyenyi, a pioneer against aids, told us how grateful he is to americans for saving his fellow ugandans. >> dr. peter mugyenyi: we thank, sincerely, the american people. they are the people who are saving lives. they are the people who can be proud that lives are being saved on this continent. >> reporter: president bush created the program in 2004 with the bipartisan backing of congress. last year, congress raised the funding to about $7 billion a year for the next five years.

>> reporter: you've called this the greatest aid effort in modern times. >> mugyenyi: absolutely. there has never been a rescue mission, a mission of mercy of this magnitude that has produced such magnanimous results. >> reporter: he told us africans now see america differently. >> mugyenyi: the impression that people in africa have of america is that america is no longer the world's policeman. it is now africa's friend. what an image. >> reporter: and how about this image? all of these exuberant looking children-- every one of them-- has hiv or aids. they would all be dead or dying if it weren't for america. now, they're alive and thriving. viola is 13. her mother died of aids, and she was dying from it, too, until she began taking those drugs provided by the united states.

we met viola at her home where she lives with her aunt. that's a lot of pills to swallow at once. >> viola: i take them every day. >> reporter: and you never forget? >> viola: i can't forget. >> reporter: what would happen if you forgot to take your pills? >> viola: i think i can die. >> reporter: viola will be fine, but dr. sabrina kitaka, a pediatrician, remembers all the children who died before america came to the rescue six years ago. she had 2,000 children who needed lifesaving drugs, but only enough pills to treat 30 of them. so she sent home more than 1,900 hundred children with only vitamins and hope-- a false hope, because all but the 30 chosen children died. you were, in fact, playing god. >> dr. sabrina kitaka: but we had no choice. >> reporter: no choice because she had no pills. ed bradley saw that when he came here ten years ago and talked to dr. mugyenyi, when the situation

looked hopeless. >> bradley: in bed after bed, dr. mugyenyi showed us patient after patient who couldn't afford drugs, either to fight the virus or the diseases it brings. this man had arrived at the hospital two weeks earlier. and what would that cost to give him the drugs, other patients the drugs that they need? >> u.s. $600 per month. >> bradley: and a man like this, how much would he make a month? >> maybe $5, $10 per month. >> bradley: even after pooling their resources, his family didn't have the money for treatments. they decided to take him home to die. >> reporter: but today, generic drugs have made aids pills much cheaper. treating one patient for a year used to cost more than $7,000; now, it's less than $300. as hiv destroys a person's immune system leading to aids, patients need these powerful pills-- antiretrovirals, they're called, or miracle pills. to stop the virus, most patients have to take two to six pills a day. now, with the u.s. paying for the pills, aids patients are no

longer doomed. dr. mugyenyi can give them all the drugs they need and send them home smiling. >> mugyenyi: absolute miracle, because this kind of situation, lazarus syndrome-- people being resurrected from the dead was inconceivable only five years ago. >> reporter: the lazarus syndrome, rising from the dead... >> mugyenyi: rising from the dead. >> reporter: but even with american aid, the battle is far from over. several sexual customs here make aids hard to contain. polygamy is accepted in much of uganda, and infidelity is so widespread that the main chain of transmission is someone having sex outside of marriage and transmitting it on to their spouse. and then there are the sugar daddies. that's what ugandans call rich old men with young mistresses, passing it on to a new generation. it is such a problem that there are even billboards discouraging it.

for example-- "would you let this man be with your teenage daughter? so why are you with his?" prostitutes still find plenty of customers in kampala, even though half of the women are infected. all the aids and all the infidelity make aids tests essential. two million ugandans are getting aids tests this year, paid for by america. they stand in long lines, scrunched up against each other, thousands in one day. charles byamukuma and his ebullient wife sarah came to get tested together after three years of marriage. are you nervous about it? >> sarah byamukuma: i am curious to know the results. >> reporter: but you are smiling, so you are not very worried? >> charles byamukuma: no, i am not worried. >> reporter: remarkably, they welcomed us to watch as a counselor handed them their results, and asked them to read them to each other. >> charles: my results are positive. >> reporter: positive, with hiv. and sarah? >> sarah: my results are positive.

>> simon: both positive. stunned and deflated. at least now, that's not a death sentence. mary kibwakali is expecting her second child in a month. her husband, henry, told us, "we have a girl and we're hoping for an heir." as for their aids tests... >> henry kibwakali: i am not worried. i don't fear anything. >> reporter: good luck to you. but luck was not with mary. >> you are hiv positive. and the husband is hiv negative. >> reporter: when henry heard that his wife tested positive, we could see him pull away from her. he did not comfort her when she cried. mary doesn't speak english, and henry made it pretty clear their marriage was over. >> henry: i fear i will not be very comfortable to sleep with her. >> simon: at least, finding out now that mary is positive gives doctors time to minimize the chances that she will pass hiv

on to her baby. 100,000 children alive in uganda today got hiv/aids from their mothers, either at birth or from breast milk. and thousands of adults are still dying of aids, because, like dan engobi, they didn't get treatment in time. engobi is 35 and probably won't see 36. he is wracked by waves of pain, and just sits or sleeps in his hut, waiting to die. >> kitaka: some people come when it's too late, and even with antiretroviral drugs, you may not rescue them. >> simon: just then, a natty young gentleman caught my eye. hello, hello. do you know anything about this... this fellow here? >> he says he's called michael. >> simon: michael? >> uh-huh. >> simon: hello, michael. does he have aids? >> yes, he does.

>> simon: but the american program will save his life. >> yes. and that, as a pediatrician, is my joy, to see every single child grow up to full capacity and be a responsible citizen of this nation. >> reporter: this little fellow could be an old man one day. and he'll have to change his suit, but other than that, he'll be just the same. >> exactly, yeah. >> simon: a ugandan singer named supercharger wrote a song thanking america, because he has aids and pills supplied by america are keeping him alive. he's paid, partly with american aids money, to teach children how to avoid aids, while he entertains them. uganda's campaign to stop the spread of aids is called "a-b- c": a for "abstinence," b for "be faithful to your partner," and c for "condoms." but lately, the government has stressed abstinence and fidelity, with condoms running a distant third. >> president yoweri museveni: it's a fallback position. >> simon: a "fallback"-- that's how uganda's president, yoweri

museveni, refers to condoms. >> museveni: it's better than being sick. >> simon: but you think condoms are a last resort? >> museveni: certainly, they're a last resort in our culture. but in case you can't abstain, you can't be faithful, then, go for the fallback position. >> simon: in this country, which is 80% christian, the priests and the president sing the same song-- abstinence for singles, fidelity for married couples, and condoms for those who can't measure up. >> pastor martin ssempa: when hiv/aids comes, we can defeat it with a magic bullet called abstinence and faithfulness in marriage. >> simon: pastor martin ssempa, a ugandan evangelical, tries to sell abstinence to tough customers-- students on the campus of makere university. the u.s. is spending $17 million a year in uganda for abstinence programs alone, but it's not working. the aids rate is inching back up, above 6%, because now that aids is no longer a death

sentence, people are getting more careless about spreading it. sadly, the solution has become part of the problem. if people are becoming complacent about aids, how do you as a preacher put the fear of god into them? >> ssempa: i think it's the fear of aids in them. >> simon: but doesn't everyone now know the risk of aids? >> ssempa: no. every year, there is a new group of young people that come into sexual maturity; there's a group of adolescents that enter into sexual experimentation. they have never heard that aids spreads. they have never seen someone die from hiv/aids. >> simon: and disaster is looming, because in africa, a million more people a year will come down with hiv/aids. the u.s. says it simply can't afford caring for anymore new patients so, unless other wealthy countries step up, millions are doomed. for now, the u.s. says it will keep treating people already in the program. "thank heaven," says pediatrician sabrina kitaka.

are you convinced or optimistic that the americans will go on doing this? >> kitaka: sometimes, i worry that, supposing they stop. then what? >> simon: the answer is simple. they would die, wouldn't they? >> kitaka: that's the truth. and what would all our efforts have come to? to zero. i... i, you know, it's like blackmailing the american people, but we hope and pray that they will continue to support this program. it was one of those days. i was running across the platform and i just missed the train. so i checked on the next one. then i get a call from mike at the office. phone: i can't find that sales report, any chance you have it? i wasn't sure, so i checked my work computer...found it...and sent it off... ...and spent the rest of the ride catching up on the news. the iphone saved my day, even before it started.

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>> stahl: with cigarette sales falling, the smoking industry is going smokeless. companies like r.j. reynolds and philip morris are introducing new smokeless tobacco products that are nothing like your granddaddy's messy old chew or dip. the companies say these new products-- one is called snus-- help tide smokers over when they go to places where they can't light up anymore because of smoking bans, like restaurants and offices. since the bans started going into effect 25 years ago, more and more people have given up cigarettes. today, the smoking rate is half what it was 40 years ago. and so the companies are investing heavily in developing smokeless, and in changing its image from hillbilly to hip. think smokeless tobacco, and you probably conjure up something distinctly unappealing-- a bulging mouthful of wet, brown goo that's smelly and spitty, brown and drooly.

not anymore. now, there's snus. >> justin billings: there's no spitting or anything, so no one knows you're doing it. >> stahl: when he does it-- when justin billings uses snus, he tucks it-- a tiny tea bag-like pouch filled with tobacco-- discretely under his upper lip. there's no lump in his cheek, and no juice. do you snus in class? >> billings: yeah. it's great. >> stahl: what do you mean, it's great? >> billings: i can be in class and as... instead of looking like, "oh, there's 40 minutes left in this class, i just want a cigarette," i can put the snus in and continue to pay attention and don't have to focus on the tobacco craving. >> stahl: snus curbs the craving as the nicotine absorbs into his gums. >> billings: you want to smell it? >> stahl: yeah. billings is 31, a musician and college student in l.a. who has smoked since he was 16. kind of grassy. >> billings: smells good to me. >> stahl: philip morris and r.j. reynolds have been selling their

brands of marlboro and camel snus for about a year. at $4 a can-- about half what a pack of cigarettes usually costs-- the companies say sales show that snus is catching on. >> billings: i have a cigarette when i get up in the morning. >> stahl: here's justin at 7:00 a.m., smoking while he checks his email. he used to dread being stuck someplace where he couldn't feed his habit. now, he's buzzed on nicotine practically 24/7. as he heads off to the gym, he pops in a snuns... >> billings: i'll put the snus in. and instead of walking, i can jog to the gym, because i'm not carrying a cigarette. you can't jog carrying a cigarette and... >> stahl: but you jog with the snus. >> billings: yeah, i jog with the snus in. and at the gym, he snuses while he's working out. >> billings: and i'd feel really good and healthy and in shape. >> stahl: later at school, he lights up before class and snuses during class. at night, there's more snusing

when he's out with friends at a bar. and unbeknownst to me, he was snusing throughout our interview at a smoke-free restaurant. all told, he uses about ten pouches of snus and 20 cigarettes a day. you're what they call in the business a dual user. >> billings: okay. >> stahl: you smoke and you snus at the same time. >> billings: or both-- sometimes, i have a snus in and i'll smoke. >> stahl: no. now, why would you do that? >> billings: ( laughs ) you seem disappointed in me? >> stahl: i am. because i think you're doubling the harm. >> billings: but i don't understand snus to be that bad for you. >> stahl: you have a feeling it's not harmful? >> billings: i've... i've done as much as read the wikipedia on snus. what little i know is it's better for you than smoking by a quite a bit. >> reporter: dr. karl fagerstrom agrees that snus, which originated here in his home country of sweden, is nowhere near as harmful as cigarettes. he's a nicotine addiction scientist who was awarded a

medal from the world health organization for his work on medications to help smokers quit. can you put a percentage number on how much less harmful snus is than smoking? >> dr. karl fagerstrom: there has been many authorities-- the royal college of physicians in u.k., for example-- and they say it's somewhere between 99% to 90% less harmful than smoking. and i... and i do agree with that. that's the ballpark. >> stahl: fagerstrom says snus is automatically less harmful because there's no smoke and no inhaling, the cause of most tobacco-related disease. let's say i'm a smoker, and i quit and i go to snus. what have i eliminated in terms of harm for myself? >> fagerstrom: it doesn't have any impact on the respiratory airways. it may not cause any cancer at all, except for a possibility that it might slightly increase

the risk of pancreatic cancer, which is not a very common cancer. >> stahl: no, but it's a pretty deadly one. does it create more pancreatic cancer than smoking? >> fagerstrom: no, smoking has a higher risk. >> stahl: it's even worse. >> fagerstrom: so still it is, even on pancreatic cancer... >> stahl: still less. >> fagerstrom: it is a reduced risk. >> stahl: he says snus, which has the same level of nicotine as cigarettes, may raise blood pressure, but doesn't cause heart disease. what about mouth, the gums, oral cancer? >> fagerstrom: the funny thing is that with the swedish sort of snus, it hasn't been found in studies that it does cause oral cancer. >> stahl: unlike american chewing tobacco that does cause cancer of the mouth, swedish snus is regulated by the government as a food product, so the levels of toxins and carcinogens are kept to a bare minimum. that's why doctors in sweden recommend snus to people who simply can't stop smoking, even though it's clearly an addictive substance. they're following a

controversial medical practice called "harm reduction," and groups like the royal college of physicians are pushing it for smokers, saying that less hazardous products like snus "can save millions of lives." >> karla sneegas: at this point in time, i cannot say these products are safer. >> stahl: but in the u.s., health officials like karla sneegas don't like the idea of "harm reduction," where you use another tobacco product to fight smoking. she runs the anti-tobacco program for the state of indiana. >> sneegas: i think that these products are going to end up leading to dual use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products, and we have no idea whatsoever what is the outcome, what's the health impact of someone not quitting and using both products. >> stahl: in other words, you're saying if they do that, it could end up being more harmful. >> sneegas: it could end up being more harmful. we don't know. >> stahl: she's also skeptical

of harm reduction, because tobacco company executives promote it, like susan ivey of r.j. reynolds, the company that makes camel snus. >> susan ivey: because i don't believe that 45 million americans will quit smoking immediately that we should pursue a harm reduction strategy. >> stahl: but the tobacco companies are not allowed to advertise snus as a less-harmful product. so, the thrust of their internet ads is that it's a way to get around the smoking bans. >> the snus guide to workplace boredom. >> stahl: these web videos are all about snusing at the office or on subways. >> the snus guide to mass transit. you can put your actual travel time to good use. >> stahl: and magazine ads urge smokers to "break free" and "just say no"-- not to smoking, but to no-smoking laws, laws that have hurt big tobacco's bottom line. >> sneegas: my take-home message from that is that these products have been developed for smokers

to have a way to get their nicotine fix until they can get to the place where they can have their next cigarette. that is not going to help people stop smoking. >> stahl: but they have helped people stop in sweden, where the smoking rate has dropped to the lowest in europe, and fagerstrom says snus played a big part, particularly with smokers who've failed with things like the nicotine patch or gum. >> fagerstrom: and the reason for that, we think, is that snus is cheaper, more available. but it also gives more nicotine, which is what they need. >> stahl: martin timell tried the patch and gum to stop smoking, but like 90% of the smokers who do that each year, he failed. are you open about your snus use? >> martin timell: yes, of course. >> stahl: there's no stigma whatsoever? >> timell: no, not at all. >> stahl: timell, one of sweden's most popular tv hosts, smoked a pack a day for 15 years, until his mother, a lifelong smoker, died of lung

cancer. you said to yourself, "okay, that's it," and you tried to stop smoking without snus? >> timell: yes, i tried several times. and i didn't manage. maybe i'm a weak person, i don't know. but with snus, it was very, very easy. >> stahl: you started snus and stopped smoking... >> timell: yes. >> stahl: ... just like that? >> timell: yes. >> stahl: because it satisfies the craving. >> timell: oh, yes. >> stahl: but now instead of craving cigarettes, timell craves snus, so he still finds himself at the tobacco store every day, feeding his habit. >> timell: of course, it would be much better if i wasn't addicted to nicotine. but i really am. >> stahl: you're an addict, period. >> timell: oh, yes. >> stahl: of course, what sweden is doing or has done is traded one addiction for another addiction. >> fagerstrom: that's true. that is true. and this is why i'm saying this is not harm elimination. they are still addicted, and addiction is regarded as a unnatural state. so addiction is a problem, but

it's less of a problem than lung cancer. >> stahl: he says that, since swedes began switching from cigarettes to snus 30 years ago, there's been a dramatic drop in lung cancer cases. and now, sweden is asking the european union to reverse its ban on snus, a ban imposed in 1992, before the latest studies showing its harm reduction impact. back in indiana, r.j. reynolds is test-marketing its latest generation of smokeless products, camel dissolvables-- tobacco in the shape of little brown tablets called orbs or strips or sticks that literally melt in your mouth. they pack a punch of nicotine equal to as much as two cigarettes. karla sneegas thinks r.j. reynolds is making dissolvables specifically for teenagers, a charge the company denies. you pulled together a group of high school students to discuss orbs.

what did they tell you? >> sneegas: one-- "it looks like candy. and... and who's candy made for? who... who's attracted to candy? we are, kids." >> stahl: the students noted that camel orbs look a lot like the candy tic-tacs, even have the same minty taste, and can be used to circumvent tobacco bans in schools. it's frustrating, says sneegas, since smoking bans have been successful in getting people to give up cigarettes. >> sneegas: more smokers do quit. they cut back drastically. >> stahl: they're shamed. >> sneegas: and you know, cutting back is a great first step. sometimes, they go to the point of saying, "well, i can't smoke at work anymore. it's time to quit. i want to quit anyway. it's time to quit." >> stahl: her main worry is that if smokeless catches on, people will end up like justin billings, smoking and snusing. justin billings says he may use the dissolvables or snus to try to quit cigarettes, someday. but not now. now, he smokes and snuses any

chance he can. and i mean, any chance. >> billings: i can brush my teeth. i can eat dinner. >> stahl: you brush your teeth... >> billings: yeah. >> stahl: ... with that thing in your mouth? >> billings: it kind of doesn't make sense, but with... with the tooth brushing... >> stahl: no. >> billings: ... it's either because i've forgotten it's already in there and i just finished the tooth brushing. ( laughter ) >> stahl: you're really addicted. you really are. you're an addict. >> billings: yeah. a lot of people are. >> welcome to the cbs sports updateed. tomorrow night ncaa championship game will match up butler and duke. the bulldogs matt howard recovering from a slight concussion did not practice today. it he will be a game time decision. she wouldton mack who left yesterday's game with muscle spasms did practice and will play. as for duke the blue definitelys practiced today as they prepare for what they hope will be their fourth national championship under their coach. for more news and scores log on to cbssports.com.

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