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Chewing tobacco: Not a safe alternative to cigarettes
Get the facts about chewing tobacco and other forms of smokeless tobacco. They're more harmful and addictive than you might think.
By Mayo Clinic staffYou can call chewing tobacco by whatever name you want — smokeless tobacco, spit tobacco, chew, snuff, pinch or dip — but don't call it harmless. Whether you use chewing tobacco or other types of smokeless tobacco because you like it or because you think smokeless is safer than cigarettes, be forewarned — chewing tobacco can cause serious health problems.
Chewing tobacco and other forms of smokeless tobacco
Chewing tobacco is a common type of smokeless tobacco. Smokeless tobacco products consist of tobacco or a tobacco blend that's chewed, sucked on or sniffed, rather than smoked.
There are many types of smokeless tobacco products around the world. In the United States, the main types of smokeless tobacco are:
- Chewing tobacco. This consists of loose tobacco leaves that are sweetened and packaged in pouches. You put a wad of the tobacco between your cheek and gum and hold it there, sometimes for hours at a time. It's also called chew and chaw. Usually you spit out the tobacco juices, but if you're more addicted, you tend to swallow some of the juices.
- Plug. This is chewing tobacco that has been pressed into a brick shape, often with the help of syrup, such as molasses, which also sweetens the tobacco. You cut off or bite off a piece of the plug and hold it between your cheek and gum. You spit out the tobacco juices.
- Twist. This is flavored chewing tobacco that has been braided and twisted into rope-like strands. You hold it between your cheek and gum and spit out the tobacco juices.
- Snuff. This is finely ground or shredded tobacco leaves. It's available in dry or moist forms and is packaged in tins or tea bag-like pouches. A pinch of snuff is placed between the lower lip and gum or cheek and gum. Dry forms of snuff can be sniffed into the nose. Using snuff is also called dipping. You normally spit out the tobacco juices, but as with chewing tobacco, if you're more addicted you tend to swallow the juices instead.
- Snus. Snus (pronounced snoos) is a newer smokeless, spitless tobacco product that originated in Sweden. It comes in a pouch that you stick between your upper lip and gum. You leave it there for about a half-hour without having to spit, then discard it.
- Dissolvable tobacco products. These are pieces of compressed powdered tobacco, similar to small hard candies. They dissolve in your mouth, requiring no spitting of tobacco juices. They're sometimes called tobacco lozenges, but they're not the same as the nicotine lozenges used to help you quit smoking.
(1 of 2)
- Smokeless tobacco and cancer: Questions and answers. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/tobacco/smokeless. Accessed Aug. 18, 2009.
- Smokeless tobacco. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/smokeless/smokeless_facts/index.htm. Accessed Aug. 18, 2009.
- Smokeless tobacco and how to quit. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_13X_Quitting_Smokeless_Tobacco.asp?sitearea=PED. Accessed Aug. 20, 2009.
- Hecht SS, et al. Similar exposure to a tobacco-specific carcinogen in smokeless tobacco users and cigarette smokers. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. 2007;16:1567.
- Kozlowski LT. Effect of smokeless tobacco product marketing and use on population harm from tobacco use: Policy perspective for tobacco-risk reduction. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2007;33(suppl):S379.
- Spit tobacco: A guide for quitting. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/OralHealth/Topics/SpitTobacco/SpitTobaccoAGuideforQuitting.htm. Accessed Aug. 20, 2009.
- Hurt RD (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 31, 2009.
