Smokeless Tobacco
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD
Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.
- What is smokeless tobacco?
- What are the health risks of smokeless tobacco?
- Cancer risk
- Other health risks
- Is smokeless tobacco safer than cigarette smoking?
- What is being done to reduce the use of smokeless tobacco?
- What treatments are available to help people quit using smokeless tobacco?
- Smokeless Tobacco At A Glance
- Find a local Doctor in your town
What is smokeless tobacco?
Smokeless tobacco is sometimes known as chewing tobacco or spitting tobacco. It is available in two forms, snuff and chewing tobacco. Both types of smokeless tobacco are held in the mouth inside the cheek or between the cheek and gum.
Smokeless tobacco is known to contain at least 28 cancer-causing chemicals, medically known as carcinogens. The main carcinogens in smokeless tobacco are the tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). Some of the other cancer-causing agents found in smokeless tobacco are formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, arsenic, benzopyrene, nickel, and cadmium.
Nicotine is also found in smokeless tobacco, like all tobacco products. Although nicotine is absorbed more slowly from smokeless tobacco than from cigarettes, 3 to 4 times more nicotine is absorbed from smokeless tobacco than from a cigarette, and the nicotine from smokeless tobacco remains longer in the bloodstream. Nicotine is the substance responsible for tobacco addiction.
- In 2007, about 3% of U.S. adults aged 26 and older were users of smokeless
tobacco, while around 5% of people aged 18 to 25 reported using smokeless
tobacco. Rates of use among young people (under the age of 18) are higher than
those of adults.
- In 2007, more than 13% of male high school students and more than 2% of female high school students reported using smokeless tobacco.
Smokeless tobacco is not the same thing as smokeless cigarettes. Smokeless cigarettes (also termed e-cigarettes) are designed to provide nicotine in vapor to the user without burning tobacco. However, the smokeless cigarettes still provide addictive nicotine to the user and secondhand nicotine to others.
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