The 4-1-1 on Spit Tobacco

A lot of people think spit tobacco isn't harmful to your health or that it's a safe alternative to cigarettes - think again!  Read on for the 4-1-1 on Spit Tobacco.

• Using spit tobacco (also called smokeless tobacco) is at least as addictive as cigarette smoking.  It's been proven to cause cancer of the mouth and other oral cancers (like cancer of the tongue).  It also causes other oral health problems, like tooth loss, inflamed and receding gums, and leukoplakia (which are raised white patches which may turn into cancer).  
• Yuck! After only 2 years of using spit tobacco, 3 out of every 4 users has lesions in their mouth.  Who wants to kiss someone with open sores in their mouth?
• Spit tobacco can reduce the number of cells in the mouth (called Langerhan cells) that work with the immune system to protect against viruses, fungi, and cancer.  Combine that with the lesions most regular spit tobacco users have in their mouths and that leaves the spit tobacco user vulnerable to infections, viruses!
• In the 16 years from 1970 to 1986, snuff use increased by 15 times among males 17-19 years old, and chewing tobacco use increased by 4 times in that same group.
• In a survey of North Carolina high school students, about a quarter of all white males had used smokeless tobacco in the last 30 days.
• 43% of white male middle school students have used smokeless tobacco.  Although spit tobacco use is traditionally a white male activity, in some areas, spit tobacco use is increasing among girls as well.
• It is believed that smokeless tobacco use is more broadly accepted in the western parts of North Carolina.  A survey of elementary school boys in our state found that 35% of 1st grade boys had tried smokeless tobacco, and 70% of 7th  grade boys had tried it.  In first grade... at age SIX... over a THIRD of boys have tried smokeless tobacco!!! And almost three quarters of 7th grade boys have tried it! (NCMJ, 1990)