SMOKELESS TOBACCO
IS
SAFE?DR. ALFRED KHALLOUF
what is Smokeless Tobacco?
Smokeless tobacco is tobacco that’s snuffed and/or chewed, rather than smoked by the user.
Well, let’s start with the facts. There are numerous cancers that have been linked to smokeless tobacco. Those cancers include gum cancer,
as well as tongue, lip, pharynx, and cheek cancers. As well, as cancer in the esophagus and pancreatic cancer.
We also know that smokeless tobacco can cause tooth decay in exposed tooth roots, recede gums, and produces leathery white patches and red
sores, which can become cancerous.
ABC News published in article in 2005, which stated,"Smokeless tobacco is, without a question of a doubt, far less harmful than cigarette smoking," said Ken Warner, dean of
the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
They argued that both products contain large amounts of nicotine, but nicotine alone is about as unhealthy as caffeine. It is the cigarette's smoke, which delivers the nicotine to
the lungs, that is most lethal.
However, in 1986, a statement from the U.S. Surgeon General concluded that users of chewing tobacco should know that chewing tobacco "is not a safe substitute for smoking
cigarettes."
The risks of getting cancer from chewing tobacco are lower than those associated with smoking cigarettes, the health risks of chewing tobacco are very real and potentially fatal. Chewing tobacco use also has not been shown to be helpful for smokers who want to quit
smoking, according to Medicine Net.
Parents are encouraged by health care givers, school authorities, and public health officials to include the topic of chewing tobacco use when they discuss the hazards of any
tobacco use with their children, especially teen aged children.
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