Dangers Of Smokeless Tobacco

Very little is being said in the press about the information health and consumer groups are posting on the Internet about the tobacco issue. This is unfortunate, because the tobacco war currently happening on the Internet will have profound long-term effects on marketing, advertising, and media, not to mention politics.

The tobacco war is the first major demonstration of just how much the Internet is changing the basic balance of power between business, consumers, and government. As the first post-Internet consumer/business confrontation, this is uncharted territory; the public has never had this much information about such complicated issue available to it before.

In days prior to the Internet only a few thousand people would have been able to read the 50+-page tobacco settlement agreement reached by the attorneys general last year. The document is too long for magazines and newspapers to print in entirety, even if they wanted to, but its well within size limits for distribution over the Internet. Within days after its release, the settlement was available for viewing or downloading from several private or consumer sponsored Websites. Even at this late date, few American magazines and newspapers have run a single sentence of the settlement agreement.

There is a striking similarity between the rise of private Internet Websites covering the tobacco war and the rise of CNN in covering the Gulf War. CNN rose to international prominence with its coverage of the war, in large part because its 24 hour all news format was better suited to cover that kind of story. The major networks were off the air at night when many key events took place, and they only offered limited news coverage during the day and evening. Like CNN, the private Websites covering the tobacco war have some basic advantages over their competition; their format allows large quantities of information to be easily and affordably distributed, and there are no advertisers to risk offending. Consumers are noticing.

If you use smokeless tobacco, your first thoughts are probably the chance of contracting lip, tongue, throat and stomach cancer. Certainly, these cancers have been proven to develop from smokeless tobacco use.Many people are not aware that smokeless tobacco has a more far ranging effect on the human body than those diseases mentioned above. It has been shown that smokeless tobacco can increase greatly the chances of developing bladder cancer. What is frightening is that so many people now using and those who will soon begin to use smokeless tobacco have no idea of the serious effects this substance can bring down upon unsuspecting users. We have seen a lot of evidence that points to a correlation of bladder cancer and tobacco use. There remains a lot of research left to do before the final verdict is in. In my humble opinion, the information that I have studied in preparation to write this short, general article has convinced me that the possibility that it does cause bladder cancer far outweighs any scientific information stating that it does not.

In spite of what people believe, chewing tobacco is far from harmless. Therefore, if you are thinking of switching to chewing tobacco from smoking because you think it is healthier for you, this could not be further from the truth.

First, let us get rid of one of the myths of chewing tobacco. Not all-chewing tobacco has to be spit out when chewed. Some of the tobacco companies have come up with forms of chewing tobacco that are a lot less messy, but no less dangerous.

One of the risks of chewing tobacco is the same as with smoking, and that is the risk of addiction. Just like with smoking cigarettes, chewing tobacco also contains nicotine and this nicotine is highly addictive, especially after you have been chewing tobacco for an extended period. In addition, with that addiction comes a tolerance to nicotine. This means that over time, people who chew tobacco have to chew more of it in order to achieve that same level of satisfaction.

What many people don't realize is that in chewing tobacco, unlike with smoking tobacco, there is a great amount of sugar in order to improve the taste. This large amount of sugar eventually leads to gum disease because it causes the gums to pull away from the teeth.

Another thing that people do not realize is that chewing tobacco also increases your heart rate as well as your blood pressure. This can lead to heart attack or stroke. In addition, people who use chewing tobacco have higher cholesterol levels than those who do not.
Probably the worst danger of chewing tobacco is oral cancer. This can be cancer of the gums, throat, cheek, mouth, or tongue. The surgery required to treat those with oral cancer is dangerous and can lead to terrible disfiguration. Usually, these cancerous sores are preceded by sores that are called pre-cancerous. These pre-cancerous sores many times turn into cases of oral cancer.

The tobacco companies give the impression that it is a safe alternative to cigarette smoking but smokeless tobaccos, like cigarettes, are sometimes more addictive and contain high concentrations of cancer-causing chemicals.

The tobacco industry estimates that 24 million Americans use smokeless tobacco products. Smokeless tobacco sales have increased above 30% in the past ten years, while cigarettes, and other smoked tobacco usage has actually declined. It has been predicted by industry analysts that smokeless tobacco usage could double over the next few years. Why? Because health-conscious Americans are looking for alternatives to smoking.

There are about 30,000 cases of oral cancer are discovered each year in the United States alone, causing about 9,000 deaths. Men over 40 are the most frequently struck while the ratio of oral cancer is 3 to one between males than females. Women use smokeless tobacco but tend to do so in private. Smokeless tobacco used regularly can damage teeth and gum lines, and lessening the ability to taste and smell. People who use smokeless tobacco are increasing their risks of developing cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus. The use of smokeless tobacco can cause a precancerous condition in the mouth called leukoplakia. Occurring on the lips or inside the cheek, leukoplakia is a white, leathery-appearing patch which results in cancer diagnosis in 3-5 percent of cases. Everyone has different genetics. While some can chew for many years and not get cancer, some develop tobacco-related cancer over a very short time period

Other dangers from smokeless tobacco use include: gum recession that results in exposed roots and increased sensitivity to heat and cold; tooth loss from damage to the gum tissue; abrasion to the tooth enamel due to high levels of sand and grit contained in smokeless tobaccos; discoloration of the teeth and bad breath; tooth decay caused by sugar added to smokeless tobacco to improve its taste; and possible decreased athletic performance due to constriction of blood vessels caused by nicotine use. Many people whom get off smokeless tobacco see their blood pressure normalize and their resting heart rates to go down dramatically.

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