There are a variety of smokeless tobacco products. They include dip, snuff, and chewing tobacco. These products are believed to be less harmful, but are they? You may find these 5 facts about smokeless tobacco surprising.
Fact No.1 – Smokeless tobacco also contains a cocktail of harmful chemicals. If you think that chewing tobacco is better than smoking, think again. Smokeless tobacco is as harmful as smoking. It contains 28 known carcinogens, including TSNAs (tobacco-specific nitrosamines) at a high concentration. TSNAs are among the most potent known carcinogens.
Smokeless tobacco also contains formaldehyde, cadmium, arsenic, and radioactive polonium.
Fact No.2 – Smokeless tobacco also causes cancers. Chewing tobacco increases your risk of oral cancer by 50 percent. This includes cancer of the tongue, cheek, and oral cavity, as well as laryngeal cancer. Smokeless tobacco users are also at a higher risk of cancer of the pancreas.
Fact No.3 – Smokeless tobacco is also highly addictive. Majority of smokeless tobacco contains higher levels of nicotine than regular cigarettes. Snuffs contain about 3.6mg of nicotine. Chewing tobacco has about 4.5mg. While a regular cigarette only contains 1-2mg of nicotine. When you chew tobacco, sufficient amount of nicotine is easily absorbed through the lining of your mouth. It’s enough to cause addiction. But this doesn’t make cigarettes safer. There is no such thing as safe smoking.
Fact No.4 – Smokeless tobacco can cause tooth decay, bone loss, and leukoplakia. Smokeless tobacco is extremely harmful to your oral health. It stains your teeth, causes bad breath, and increases your risk of bone loss, tooth decay, and other disorders. You are also a greater risk of permanent gum recession, leukoplakia, benign lesions on the inside of the cheeks and the tongue.
Fact No.5 – Smokeless tobacco can cause other serious health problems. While no published studies yet up to this time, researchers are now looking into the possible connection of smokeless tobacco products to the increased risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Maybe most would agree that smokeless tobacco is less harmful than smoking. With more than thousands of chemical compounds, hundreds of which are poisonous chemicals, and less than a hundred of carcinogens, smoking still remains the number one preventable cause of death in the world. But this doesn’t mean however, that smokeless tobacco is a better tobacco use substitute. Smokeless tobacco use, in fact, is no different from smoking. It harms your health, damages your body, and leads you to nicotine addiction. One is as harmful as the other.
All tobacco products, cigarettes, dips, and snuffs alike carry risks to their users. Effects may vary in severity and type, but the one fact remains – you get weaker. Quitting smoking or the use of any tobacco product on the other hand offers you freedom from nicotine addiction and a healthier life. Choosing the latter means more time and a happier life with your love ones. Live a happier and healthier life – choose a nicotine-free life, quit tobacco use now!
