Smokeless tobacco is as harmful as cigarettes. Tobacco is used in all kinds of cigarettes, cigars and it is also used typically in the form of snuff and chew. Smokeless tobacco is not very different from the tobacco used in cigarettes which you smoke to satiate your addiction. Smokeless tobacco may be further processed and there are lots of additives and flavors to make the chewing or snuffing experiences satiating.
Important Facts About Smokeless Tobacco
1. Smokeless tobacco is just as harmful as normal tobacco used in cigarettes, if not more. Smokeless tobacco contains nicotine. As you may be aware, cigars and cigarettes and even tobacco used for pipes or hookahs have nicotine. It is a dangerous chemical and it is actually classified as an addictive drug. When you chew, snuff, snus or plug tobacco, you are consuming nicotine. Even if you are consuming dissolvable smokeless tobacco, you are still consuming nicotine.
2. Smokeless tobacco contains several carcinogens. You may be aware that ordinary cigarettes contain hundreds of chemicals of which about seventy chemicals or compounds are classified as carcinogens. In smokeless tobacco, there are more than twenty eight carcinogens. All these chemicals have serious adverse implications for anyone’s health. There is also another reality that most people consuming smokeless tobacco do not realize or make note of. One doesn’t have to smoke tobacco to get affected by the carcinogens. There is a perception that only burning the tobacco will secrete the carcinogens or the harmful chemicals. Chewing them or placing them inside the mouth is actually more facilitating to the exposure to these carcinogens. Even if there is the slightest chance of having the carcinogens burned off while smoking tobacco, smokeless tobacco doesn’t allow any such loss of chemicals because of the methods of consumption.
3. Smokeless tobacco contains sweeteners. Tobacco itself has a very unpleasant taste and smell. Some cigarettes smell nice because of flavors added to them which can be one of many kinds of fragrance or a special formula of fragrances. Burning tobacco also has a bad smell that is countered by the fragrances. With smokeless tobacco, sweeteners are used to make the product pleasantly tasty. A lot of sugar and artificial sweeteners are used to make the smokeless tobacco products desirable. Not only would nicotine have dozens of harmful effects on your health and the carcinogens will increase the risks of cancer, the sweeteners and artificial flavors will increase the chances of cavities, infections and various other oral conditions. You may come across mint flavored smokeless tobacco or some in cherry and licorice flavor. They are all equally unhealthy and toxic.
4. Smokeless tobacco contain several abrasives. Just as the nicotine and other chemicals are tasked to induce a sense of addiction and relief in cigarettes, the abrasives are tasked to wear down the outermost layers of your teeth, gums and mouth which will allow the nicotine and the chemicals to enter the bloodstream. Unless the nicotine and the other chemicals enter the bloodstream, there will be no satiation and a person will not be addicted to the product in the first place.
5. Smokeless tobacco products also contain generous amounts of salts. From ordinary salts to flavoring salts, there is abundance of the primary cause of blood pressure. Salts, combined with the sugar content in smokeless tobacco, can lead to extremely erratic and unhealthy blood pressure as well as blood glucose levels.
Smokeless tobacco is not any safer than cigarettes or cigars. Smokeless tobacco can cause a number of different health ailments and fatal conditions. Here are some smokeless tobacco facts and statistics pertaining to health.
6. Smokeless tobacco can cause cancer. It has more than twenty eight carcinogens, all of which can cause cancers. Esophageal cancer is the most common among consumers of smokeless tobacco. The risks of oral cancer which includes throat cancer, mouth cancer and cancer of the cheek, tongue and lips are increased exponentially. Any of these types of cancers can be extremely troubling and one may need surgery to remove the cancerous cells or even part of the organ that has been most affected. Surgical procedures pertaining to the jaw, neck and chin or any other part of the face or respiratory area can lead to disfiguration. Many of these cancers can be fatal as well. Also, these cancers can lead to other types of cancers and may facilitate other serious to fatal health conditions.
7. Smokeless tobacco consumers are at greater risk of heart diseases. Most people who are addicted to smoking or to smokeless tobacco feel a little relieved while consuming their favorite product but instead of actually being relieved or relaxed, the heart is made to beat much faster than its normal rate. Also, the respiratory tracts are adversely affected. Changes to the blood pressure, glucose levels in the blood, shortness of breaths and several associated factors can lead to cardiovascular problems. Heart attacks or strokes are common among consumers of smokeless tobacco.
8. Consumers of smokeless tobacco are at a far greater risk of developing oral health problems and dental diseases. Gum problems or the gum disease is the most common among those who chew or consume smokeless tobacco. Cavities, damaged teeth, weak teeth, bad breath and discolored teeth, are all very common consequences of consuming smokeless tobacco. People who consume smokeless tobacco for many years will lose their natural teeth, they will have discolored tongue and they will be unable to treasure any kind of foods. The taste buds will be damaged. The tongue will be sensitive to all kinds of spices and varying temperatures. The inner parts of the mouth will be vulnerable to abrasions and all kinds of sensitivity problems.
9. Consuming smokeless tobacco and swallowing it will lead to stomach aches, ulcers and can cause different degrees of inflammation. Stomach cancer can also be a consequence, direct or indirect, of smokeless tobacco.
10. Consumers of smokeless tobacco will experience various kinds of aftermaths, from losing the optimum sense of smell and taste to losing many or all teeth. People will also suffer from dizziness, will have weak muscle, reduced endurance or stamina and shall have perpetual fatigue.
Typically, smokeless tobacco is consumed in four ways. It can be snuffed in. Such smokeless tobacco products which are snuffed in are usually ground up tobacco which are a tad moist and blended with flavors. They are dipped into the mouth, at the bottom lip or on the gums. The smokeless tobacco works its flavors and the chemicals attend to the addiction. Smokeless tobacco products can also be chewed which are typically tobacco leaves shredded to tiny bits. Smokeless tobacco when chewed is often called a wad. Shredded tobacco leaves can also be placed against the cheeks and the gums in which case it is known as a plug. One doesn’t have to chew this. The smokeless tobacco products in this case secrete a juice, also known as tobacco juice, which one has to spit out. Snus is the fourth way of consuming smokeless tobacco. It also needs to be placed inside the mouth but there is no chewing involved and one doesn’t have to spit out any tobacco juice. However, with most of these smokeless tobacco products, one has to eventually spit out the residue or leftover of the paste, leaves or mixture of various ingredients.
There are many variants to smokeless tobacco these days and there are products which do not require any conventional act but simply placing the stuff inside the mouth which will eventually dissolve. This is known as dissolvable smokeless tobacco. One doesn’t have to spit out anything. Nothing is left over eventually.
Impact of Addiction
The level of addiction to smokeless tobacco can be just as severe as addiction to smoking or alcohol abuse. In most cases, the severity of addiction to smokeless tobacco is observed to be greater than alcohol and cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco is relatively cheaper and they can be consumed at any time of the day and at any place. There are bans to spitting in many parts of the country but there is no ban to chewing the smokeless tobacco products, regardless of where one is. That is something not permissible by law in many parts for smoking or for consuming alcohol. The economics coupled with convenience, certainly makes smokeless tobacco a favorite for many people.
Besides, smokeless tobacco is just as addictive as cigarettes because there are the same miscreants causing the addiction in the first place. People get the nicotine delivered to their body, there are dozens of harmful chemicals, all of which have a certain degree of influence to create an addiction and the sweet and interesting flavors make the entire experience even more rewarding than smoking. A tin of snuff contains lethal doses of nicotine. Depending on the size, a tin of smokeless tobacco typically contains as much nicotine as is present in sixty cigarettes. A normal snuff or chewing of smokeless tobacco delivers more nicotine than four cigarettes. Consuming a much larger amount of smokeless tobacco or consuming a tin and more through a day or night will lead to disastrous aftermaths.
Smokeless tobacco is often opted for by people who want to quit cigarettes or want an alternative to cigarettes, either due to money or due to inconveniences caused to others around. There is no passive effect of smokeless tobacco as is the case with passive smoking in case of cigarettes, albeit barring the debris or the tobacco juice being spat out. However, opting for smokeless tobacco for whatever reason becomes opting for one evil instead of another.