preview

Smokeless Tobacco Essay

Good Essays

Smokeless tobacco is presented as an alternative to smoking cigarettes, although smokeless tobacco has some benefits over smoking cigarettes, it also causes harm to the user. There are different forms of smokeless tobacco such as chewing tobacco that come in the forms of as Plug/Twist, Verb Use (consider revising). Snuff another form of smokeless tobacco composed of grounded tobacco leaves requires you to place it between the gums and cheeks, then spit out the juices or swallow if you please. The newest version called snus, in which you place them between the gum/cheek, but you do not have to spit out juices. Smokeless tobacco should not be used as a harm reduction strategy because it still causes health problems for the user such as oral …show more content…

Even though smokeless tobacco contains fewer chemicals, it does not necessarily mean that the user will stop smoking (Goldberg, 2005). Smokeless tobacco can cause oral problems for the user, such as Leukoplakia that creates white patches within the user’s mouth, which can soon turn into oral cancer. Oral cancers are cancers of the mouth, which can affect the throat and the voice box. Research shows that smokeless tobacco users are at a four times higher greater risk of developing oral cancer (NCI2, 2010). Smokeless tobacco can cause gum recession periodontitis, where the gums will recede and will not grow back. The periodontitis will leave the bony part of the teeth expose, while the smokeless tobacco can also cause gingivitis (Goldberg, 2005). Long-term users of smokeless tobacco, such as snuff can reach a point of 50 times greater risk of developing oral cancer (Cancer Prevention, 2008). The lesser oral effect of smokeless tobacco is bad breath, drooling, and tooth stains (NCI2, 2010). Smokeless tobacco causes cardiovascular problems due to nicotine contained in the smokeless tobacco. Studies comparing heart rates when smoking, using snuff, and chewing tobacco showed that heart rate increased when using all products. Smoking had a shorter time of elevated heart rate than snuff. Studies showed that those who used smokeless tobacco or cigarettes had a

Get Access