What Do You Know About Smokeless Tobacco?
Smokeless tobacco may seem less harmful than smoking. But the health problems caused by smokeless tobacco include increased heart rate, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and mouth sores.
1. Many people think that chewing tobacco is safer than cigarettes because it's not smoked.
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In reality, it can cause serious long-term health problems. Tobacco in any form contains cancer-causing chemicals called nitrosamines. Many other chemicals are found in tobacco:
- Formaldehyde
- Acetaldehyde
- Crotonaldehyde
- Hydrazine
- Arsenic
- Nickel
- Cadmium
- Benzopyrene
- Polonium, which gives off radiation
Smokeless tobacco causes cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and pancreas. It also has been linked to diseases of the mouth. These include gum disease, tooth decay, and loss of bone.
2. Smokeless tobacco comes in several forms.
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Chewing tobacco is sold in loose-leaf form, plug form, or twist form. Snuff is powdered tobacco sold dry or moist, or in packets (pouches) or sachet bags. Snus is packaged moist tobacco powder. Another form of smokeless tobacco can be dissolved. It is sold as lozenges, sticks, strips, or orbs.
3. Smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, and water pipes or hookahs all have nicotine in them and so are a health risk.
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According to the CDC, smokeless tobacco contains nicotine and is addictive. Although e-cigarettes and water pipes (hookahs) are not smokeless tobacco, they also contain nicotine. E-cigarettes are cartridges filled with nicotine and other ingredients. Hookahs have packets of shredded tobacco mixed with a sweetener and a variety of flavors.
4. Symptoms of oral cancer include sores on the inside of the mouth that don't heal; pain, numbness, or tenderness in the mouth or lips; and a lump or small eroded area in the mouth.
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See your healthcare provider or dentist right away if you notice any of these symptoms.
5. Other health problems caused by smokeless tobacco include increased heart rate, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, and mouth sores.
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It may also increase the risk for blood clots.
6. Oral cancer that is just in 1 place can be cured if it is caught in its early stage.
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But it is disfiguring because you may need to have teeth, palate, jaw, or tongue removed. If you use smokeless tobacco, or have in the past, you should be on the lookout for some of these early symptoms of oral cancer:
- Mouth sore that doesn't heal
- Lump or white patch in the mouth
- Sore throat that doesn't go away
- Trouble chewing
- You are less able to move your tongue or jaw
- It feels like something is in your throat
Pain is rarely an early symptom. For this reason, anyone who uses tobacco should have regular dental checkups.
7. A pinch of smokeless tobacco has about as much nicotine as 1 cigarette.
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Smokeless tobacco has more nicotine than cigarettes. Holding an average-sized pinch or dip in the mouth for 30 minutes releases as much nicotine in the body as smoking 4 cigarettes. Also although the nicotine in smokeless tobacco is absorbed more slowly than the nicotine in cigarettes, more of it is absorbed. Because more is absorbed, it stays in the bloodstream longer.
8. Because there's no smoke, chewing tobacco doesn't increase the risk for death from heart disease and stroke.
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Using smokeless tobacco can increase the risk for death from heart disease or stroke. In addition, people who use smokeless tobacco are more likely to take up smoking.
9. Chewing tobacco stains your teeth.
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It also can cause tooth loss because it makes your gums to pull away from your teeth at the spot where the tobacco is held in the mouth. The sugar in the tobacco may also cause decay in exposed tooth roots.
10. To kick the chewing habit, talk with your healthcare provider about using a nicotine patch.
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People who use a patch have less severe withdrawal symptoms than those who quit without a patch. Your healthcare provider also can help you develop a plan to quit. Quitting is hard. Don't get discouraged if you stop but then have a slip. Just stop again. It can take a few tries before you stop for good. Ask your provider for help if you continue to have problems.
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