Smokeless Tobacco
What is smokeless tobacco?
There are two types of smokeless tobacco--snuff and chewing tobacco. Snuff, a finely ground or shredded tobacco, is packaged as dry, moist, or in sachets (tea bag-like pouches). Typically, the user places a pinch or dip between the cheek and gum. Chewing tobacco is available in loose leaf, plug (plug-firm and plug-moist), or twist forms, with the user putting a wad of tobacco inside the cheek. Smokeless tobacco is sometimes called "spit" or "spitting" tobacco because people spit out the tobacco juices and saliva that build up in the mouth.
Spit tobacco
Spit tobacco, also known as dip and chew, snuff, chewing tobacco, and smokeless tobacco, comes in two forms. Chewing tobacco comes as loose leaves of tobacco, as plug tobacco (brick form), or in a twist form. Snuff is finely ground (powdered) tobacco that is sold moist, dry, or in tea bag-like pouches called sachets. But no matter what it’s called, spit tobacco is highly addictive and can harm your health. Here’s why:
- Spit tobacco is still tobacco. Tobacco contains cancer-causing chemicals called nitrosamines.
- Like cigarettes, spit tobacco also contains nicotine—an addictive drug. In fact, holding an average-size dip in the mouth for just 30 minutes can deliver as much nicotine as smoking three cigarettes. Nicotine addiction can make quitting difficult.
- Spit tobacco may cause mouth cancer and other health problems.
Chewing tobacco and snuff contain 28 carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). The most harmful carcinogens in smokeless tobacco are the tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). They are formed during the growing, curing, fermenting, and aging of tobacco. TSNAs have been detected in some smokeless tobacco products at levels many times higher than levels of other types of nitrosamines that are allowed in foods, such as bacon and beer.
Other cancer-causing substances in smokeless tobacco include N-nitrosamino acids, volatile N-nitrosamines, benzo(a)pyrene, volatile aldehydes, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, crotonaldehyde, hydrazine, arsenic, nickel, cadmium, benzopyrene, and polonium-210.
All tobacco, including smokeless tobacco, contains nicotine, which is addictive. The amount of nicotine absorbed from smokeless tobacco is 3 to 4 times the amount delivered by a cigarette. Nicotine is absorbed more slowly from smokeless tobacco than from cigarettes, but more nicotine per dose is absorbed from smokeless tobacco than from cigarettes. Also, the nicotine stays in the bloodstream for a longer time.
What cancers are caused by or associated with smokeless tobacco use?
Smokeless tobacco users increase their risk for cancer of the oral cavity. Oral cancer can include cancer of the lip, tongue, cheeks, gums, and the floor and roof of the mouth.
People who use oral snuff for a long time have a much greater risk for cancer of the cheek and gum than people who do not use smokeless tobacco.
The possible increased risk for other types of cancer from smokeless tobacco is being studied.
Is smokeless tobacco a good substitute for cigarettes?
In 1986, the Surgeon General concluded that the use of smokeless tobacco "is not a safe substitute for smoking cigarettes. It can cause cancer and a number of noncancerous conditions and can lead to nicotine addiction and dependence." Since 1991, NCI has officially recommended that the public avoid and discontinue the use of all tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco. NCI also recognizes that nitrosamines, found in tobacco products, are not safe at any level. The accumulated scientific evidence does not support changing this position.
What about using smokeless tobacco to quit cigarettes?
Because all tobacco use causes disease and addiction, NCI recommends that tobacco use be avoided and discontinued. Several non-tobacco methods have been shown to be effective for quitting cigarettes. These methods include pharmacotherapies such as nicotine replacement therapy and bupropion SR, individual and group counseling, and telephone quitlines.
Informations obtained from National Institute of Health.