Smoking and How to Quit - What About Other Forms of Tobacco and Marijuana?

Smokeless Tobacco

Smokeless tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarettes. It is addictive and can cause cancer!

Smokeless tobacco comes in two forms:

Snuff is a finely ground tobacco. In the United States, snuff is the most popular type of smokeless tobacco. Users put a pinch of snuff (also called a "dip" or a "rub") between the cheek and gum in the mouth and hold it there.

Chewing tobacco is bulkier than snuff and is chewed. Chewing tobacco comes in leaf and plug forms.

Smokeless tobacco contains at least 3,000 chemicals, including many that you wouldn't want in your body. Like all forms of tobacco, smokeless tobacco contains nicotine, an addictive drug that gets you hooked on tobacco. Holding one pinch of smokeless tobacco in your mouth for 30 minutes delivers as much nicotine as 3-4 cigarettes.

In addition, at least 28 cancer-causing chemicals have been identified in smokeless tobacco, including:

Nitrosamines — the most powerful cancer-causing agents in smokeless tobacco. Smokeless tobacco contains from 20 to 43,000 times more nitrosamines than other consumer products, such as beer or bacon!

Polonium 210 — a radioactive form of the element polonium

Formaldehyde — a chemical found in the fluid used to preserve dead bodies

Cadmium — a metallic element used in batteries

Arsenic — a poisonous element used in insecticides

The use of smokeless tobacco can cause:

Cancers of the mouth, pharynx (throat), and esophagus (the tube that carries food to the stomach)

Shrinking of the gums around your teeth

Cracked lips, white spots, sores, and bleeding in the mouth

Increased risk for heart disease and stroke

Additional Information on Smokeless Tobacco:

Publications

Smokeless Tobacco — Smokeless tobacco is bad for your health, just like cigarettes. This Web page lists resources to help smokeless tobacco users quit and also provides the contact information for the National Cancer Institute’s free, confidential quitline.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/smokeless-tobacco

Smokeless Tobacco and Cancer: Questions and Answers — This fact sheet describes smokeless tobacco and explains the risks of using it. It also provides resources for smokeless tobacco users who want to quit.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/smokeless

Smokeless Tobacco Facts — This fact sheet provides information and statistics on smokeless tobacco, including the health effects, estimated usage, high-risk populations, and manufacturers.

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/smokeless/smokeless_facts/index.htm...

Spit Tobacco: A Guide for Quitting — This guide on how to stop using spit tobacco provides information on developing a plan for quitting and coping with withdrawal.

http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/OralHealth/Topics/SpitTobacco/SpitTobaccoAGuideforQuitting.htm...

Ask Your Dental Hygienist About Tobacco Use and Periodontal Disease (Copyright © American Dental Hygienists' Association) — This publication discusses the effects of tobacco on oral health. It explains what the warning signs of periodontal disease are and how tobacco increases the risk of developing it.

http://www.adha.org/downloads/perio_smoking.pdf

Chewing Tobacco: Not a Safe Alternative to Cigarettes (Copyright © Mayo Foundation) — This publication provides information on the serious health risks of using chewing tobacco and other forms of smokeless tobacco such as snuff and betel quid. It discusses addiction, gum disease, cavities, heart disease, precancerous mouth sores, and oral cancer.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/chewing-tobacco/CA00019

Questions About Smoking, Tobacco, and Health (Copyright © American Cancer Society) — This publication answers common questions about health and tobacco use. It provides information on the various health effects of smoking, addiction, and the harmful chemicals cigarettes contain.

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2x_Questions_About_Smoking_Tobacco_and_Health.asp...

Smokeless Tobacco and How to Quit (Copyright © American Cancer Society) — This resource offers basic information on smokeless tobacco and the potential consequences of using it. It also explains why tobacco is addictive and provides ideas to help users quit, including quit programs and non-drug products.

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_13X_Quitting_Smokeless_Tobacco.asp...

Smokeless Tobacco: Tips on How to Stop (Copyright © American Association of Family Physicians) — This fact sheet provides information on the importance of quitting smokeless tobacco, as well as tips on how to prepare to quit, alternatives to smokeless tobacco, and what to do if you start using again.

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/addictions/tobacco/177.html

Organizations

= Indicates Federal Resources

Content last updated June 17, 2009.