Chewing Tobacco
Smokeless Tobacco (Chewing Tobacco)
Did you know that more nicotine is found in dip and chew than cigarettes? Smokeless tobacco products also contain the harmful toxins associated with cancer. According to the American Dental Association, “at least 28 cancer causing chemicals have been identified in smokeless tobacco products.” Smokeless tobacco products greatly increase the risk factors for oral cancer, gum disease, decay and many other dental problems.
Sores, receding gums and tobacco stains often result from using smokeless tobacco.
The findings from our study of a representative sample of USadults suggest that adults currently using smokeless tobaccoare twice as likely to have severe active periodontal disease than adults who never used smokeless tobacco.
Think About The Facts
- One can of snuff per day delivers as much nicotine as 60 cigarettes.
- Smokeless tobacco users become dependent on continued use because nicotine, and addictive drug, gives them a “buzz”.
- When the supply runs out or the users try to quit, they may become moody, have headaches, and trouble sleeping and concentrating.
- Some users become so addicted that they keep a pinch of snuff in place all day and during the night when they are asleep.
- Many users find that when they want to quit, they cannot. Smokeless tobacco is harder to give up than cigarettes.
- Long-term snuff users have a 50% greater risk of developing oral cancer than nonusers because the nicotine in tobacco contains cancer-causing agents such as nitrosamines.
Placing tobacco on your gums can cause your gumline to recede, leaving teeth and their roots sensitive and hard to clean. The exposure to tobacco, combined with sugar added to tobacco for flavor, wears down tooth surfaces and can result in tooth decay. When you keep a pinch or a plug of tobacco in your mouth, a white, leathery patch may form. This rippled area may be a sign of a developing pre-cancerous area.
Sean Marsee
Many users think that serious problems won’t happen to them, but they can. A young man named Sean Marsee started using snuff at the age of 12. By age 18, he developed a sore on his tongue. Doctors removed part of his tongue, but the cancer spread to his neck.
Despite more disfiguring surgery, Sean died a few months short of his 19th birthday. His mother later said that she tried to talk him out of using snuff, but he always reasoned that athletes wouldn’t advertise it if it wasn’t safe. Sean was wrong.