Dangers of smokeless tobacco

[martha1014]

Chewing tobacco: Not a safe alternative to cigarettes - MayoClinic.com

These are some of the dangers of smokeless tobacco like snus

Cancer
Your risk of certain types of cancer increases if you use chewing tobacco or other types of smokeless tobacco. This includes esophageal cancer and various types of oral cancer, including cancers of your mouth, throat, cheek, gums, lips and tongue. Surgery to remove cancer from any of these areas can leave your jaw, chin, neck or face disfigured, and the cancer may be life-threatening. You also face increased risks related to pancreatic cancer and kidney cancer.

Cavities
Chewing tobacco and other forms of smokeless tobacco cause tooth decay. That's because chewing tobacco contains high amounts of sugar, which contributes to cavities. Chewing tobacco also contains coarse particles that can irritate your gums and scratch away at the enamel on your teeth, making your teeth more vulnerable to cavities.

Gum disease
The sugar and irritants in chewing tobacco and other forms of smokeless tobacco can cause your gums to pull away from your teeth in the area of your mouth where you place the chew. Over time you can develop gum disease (gingivitis), which can lead to periodontitis and tooth loss. And like cigarettes, chewing tobacco and other smokeless products can stain your teeth and cause bad breath.

Heart disease
Smokeless tobacco increases your heart rate and blood pressure. Some evidence suggests that long-term use of smokeless tobacco increases your risk of dying of certain types of heart disease and stroke.

Precancerous mouth lesions
Smokeless tobacco increases your risk of developing small white patches called leukoplakia (loo-ko-PLAY-kee-uh) inside your mouth where the chew is most often placed. These mouth lesions are precancerous — meaning that the lesions could one day become cancer. If you stop using smokeless tobacco products, the lesions usually go away within a few months.

 

[Brewster 59]

So without being confrontational do you mind if I ask where your facts come from that you are stating as fact? first of all Sweedish snus does not have sugar in it it actually has a high salt content. Second of all Sweedish snus has been used for nearly 100 years and Sweeden has one of the lowest rates of cancer per capita in the world. I also wonder if you think vaping is harmless?

 

[Stubby]

Well Martha, that's a whole lot of bad information. Do some real research. Here's a few good places to start

Tobaccoharmreduction.org

Tobacco Truth

SnusCentral.org - Your Source For Everything Snus

That should get you started. Not sure if you're trolling or actually interested in a rational discussion.

This is what the Mayo clinic says about e-cigs

Electronic cigarettes — A safe way to light up?
What are electronic cigarettes? Are they safer than conventional cigarettes?

Answer
from Richard D. Hurt, M.D.
Electronic cigarettes, often called e-cigarettes, are battery-operated devices designed to look like regular tobacco cigarettes. Like their conventional counterparts, electronic cigarettes contain nicotine. Here's how they work: When you inhale, an atomizer turns liquid nicotine into a vapor that can be puffed, creating a cloud that resembles cigarette smoke.

Manufacturers claim that electronic cigarettes are a safe alternative to conventional cigarettes. However, these products have not been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for evaluation or approval, so the public doesn't know the levels of nicotine or the amounts or types of chemicals they contain. Furthermore, when the FDA analyzed samples of two popular brands they found traces of toxic chemicals, including known carcinogens. This prompted the FDA to issue a warning about potential health risks associated with electronic cigarettes.

Until more is known more about the potential risks, the safe play is to say no to electronic cigarettes. If you're looking for help to stop smoking, there are many FDA-approved medications that have been shown to be safe and effective for this purpose.

 

[martha1014]

Yes I am very interested. A very close friend of mine died of mouth cancer caused by tobacco product he used in his mouth. He suffered a very long lingering death. It really affected me. I don't troll. Thanks

I posted a link where I got my information from. Is there just nicotine in the snus or other chewing tobacco or do they have actual tobacco in them. Nicotine is a dreviative of tobacco where only the nicotine is used not the actual tobacco product.

It sinus like NTR with just nicotine in it.

It will read the links you gave me. Thanks

 

[Stubby]

Sorry about the troll thing. You have to understand some of use have been fighting the misinformation on snus for some time, even on this forum, so I got a bit suspicious with the opening post.

I'm not going to defend other forms of oral tobacco. Snus is clearly a superior product so why mess with anything else. I'll repeat what I said on another thread. After decades of study in Sweden they have been unable to find a relationship between Swedish snus and any oral cancer.


Snus is not like other NRT's. It is a whole tobacco product. Snus is specifically processed to have very low TSNA (that's what causes cancer). While american oral tobacco is flu cured and fermented, Swedish snus is air cured and pasteurized. Both of these things greatly reduce the toxins.

Tobacco in and of itself is not necessarily overly risky. It's how it's processed, and of course if you smoke it. There could be a good case made that snus is less risky the PV's. We know the long term effect of snus but with PV's... we don't. What is the effect of inhaling PG or VG, along with flavorings for decades? We don't know. It's not likely that there will be problems, but just saying.

 

[martha1014]

Smokeless Tobacco and Cancer: Q & A - National Cancer Institute

This is another site regarding smokeless tobacco.

So far ecig has not been proven to contain any dangerous chemicals. We don't know what they might discover in the future. What has been proven that smokeless tobacco is much safter than cigarettes but no without harm.

 

[martha1014]

Smoking and Tobacco Use :: Fact Sheet :: Smokeless Tobacco :: Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) :: CDC

This is from the CDC.

 

[Brewster 59]

Smokeless Tobacco and Cancer: Q & A - National Cancer Institute

This is another site regarding smokeless tobacco.

So far ecig has not been proven to contain any dangerous chemicals. We don't know what they might discover in the future. What has been proven that smokeless tobacco is much safter than cigarettes but no without harm.

There is no nic delivery system that is proven to be risk free, both of your sources of information would be just as opposed to the ecig as well because their mission is to erradicate nic use period. I would always say that not using nic for a lot of people would be better, but I dont think for all people. There are those of us who use nic instead of anti depressants it keeps us what we referr to as level, without nic I suffer from anxiety and depression.

These antis positions would be that I should use anti depressants for that but look at the side effects they have including causing suicidal thoughts and behavior. I wouldn't say these anti depressants are exactly safe either but yet they are FDA approved and advertise how great they are.

I am sorry to hear about your friend, I also had a friend that went on anti depressants and hung herself.

In conclusion I would have to agree that snus is not risk free it is reduced harm however I dont believe that the ecig is risk free either.

 

[Vocalek]

Martha, you might want to take a look around on the CASAA web site. This page has synopses of medical journal articles relevant to your questions: CASAA.org

You might also want to look through all 3 pages in the Harm Reduction section:
Casaa.org - Harm Reduction

One of the references will answer a lot of your questions about why these sites keep saying "x is not a safe alternative". It's a way of telling a lie by clever manipulation of the truth. BioMed Central | Full text | You might as well smoke; the misleading and harmful public message about smokeless tobacco

The FULL truth is "x is not a 100% safe alternative -- it's only 95% to 99% safer than smoking."

 

[TropicalBob]

Martha: We all have done our research. The bottom line is: These are words that should never be used in the same paragraph .. chewing tobacco and snus.

I, too, am fiercely opposed to chewing tobacco and have witnessed its oral damage to an aquaintance. Snus is not chewing tobacco. It's tobacco processed to food standards, pasteurized instead of fermented. And it has a long history of safe use in Swedish, where it originated in companies like Ettan.

Knowing what I know about the potential consequences of inhaling smoke, and having quit cigarette smoking, I would never turn to an alternative that simply damaged another part of my anatomy. As Vocalek wrote, snus is magnitudes safer than chewing tobacco or cigarette smoking. It, along with e-smoking, is a way for addicted smokers to gracefully maintain nicotine use (with some known health benefits) while avoiding deadly consequences and the ire of society now focused on smokers.

Same goes for nasal snuff, by the way. Good ole Chris Columbus brought it back with him from his second journey to the New World. And Europe has been sniffing since. Not one cancer in centuries of proper use.

 

[slybootz]

These days, what DOESN'T cause cancer? LOL just joking

While nothing in this world is 100% safe(even vaping), we should all be able to agree that Snuff and Snus are A WHOLE LOT safer than smoking cigarettes, at least 98% more safe(from numbers I've read in studies).

 

[TWISTED VICTOR]

Dang....just caught this thread.....Good info, though. Thanks for those links, Stubby and Vocalek. Martha, as Tropical Bob pointed out, chew and snus are worlds apart. Unfortunately, all oral tobaccos seem to get lumped together, like cholesterol does. Your concern is understandable, but take some time and read the provided links. And, as TB also pointed out, why would any of us turn to something that would ravage another part of our bodies. If that was the alternative, I might as well have kept smoking .

 

[aubergine]

I believe that Philip Morris bought Swedish snus? They're in the quik marts with an American cig brand on them...

 

[olderthandirt]

I believe that Philip Morris bought Swedish snus? They're in the quik marts with an American cig brand on them...

"Swedish" snus is a type of manufacture, a process. Not something that can be purchased.

PM did purchase the South African division from Swedish Match last July. Don't remember the particular brands that sale encompasses but they probably aren't any that you are seeing in US mini-marts

Martha, how ya doin?
You've expressed a lot of concern regarding smokeless tobacco in a number of threads recently, are you finding the information you need?

I wallowed into snus and snuff blindly really. Didn't care, just knew it was better than smoking.

I've benefited from your questions because they have prompted others to post links to relevant information that I wouldn't have even bothered looking for. Now that I have looked through the info provided, I'm still good, and better informed, regarding use of Swedish snus and snuff!

 

[aubergine]

Ya, Swedish Match... couldn't remember. Wonder what they're doing with that one?

 

[Vapr]

Hi,
Snus does appear to be safer than American style chew ore dip, I have not had a lot of time to research it so I really can't comment.
What I can comment on is what my Surgeon who performed two different surgeries to remove Cancer from my tongue told me. She told me that in her practice she was seeing many guys my age who came up in the Walt Garrison era ("just a pinch between your cheek and gum commercials") needing her services to remove various oral and throat Cancers. I had my first operation at the age of 36.
I started dipping Copenhagen regularly as a young teen and at about 26 or 27 years old my dentist told me if I didnt quit I would lose my bottom front teeth because my gum was so trashed. Thats when I turned to smoking.
I know I need to quit smoking so I am trying vaping.
Just want anyone out there contemplating American chew to hear from somebody whos been down that road.

 

[The Wiz]

Not much to add here that hasn't already been mentioned.Other than the fact that I will continue to use snuff(and snus off and on)along with vaping.Smoking is by far the worse way to enjoy nicotine.

The Wiz!