9781422272275

Smokeless Tobacco Use Is a Persistent Problem

The term “smokeless tobacco” encompasses a variety of different products, including chewing tobacco and snuff. Chewing tobacco includes cut-up pieces of tobacco leaves, which are often sold in a can or pouch that can easily be carried in a pocket. Users place a portion of the tobacco product (a “pinch,” “wad,” or “dip”) in their mouth, often holding the product in the cheek or between the teeth and gums. In spite of its name, chewing tobacco doesn’t need to be chewed. Instead, saliva will naturally break down the tobacco and produce a persistent flow of nicotine that is absorbed into their bloodstream frommembranes within the mouth. Chewing tobacco users must periodically spit out the tobacco juice. Spittoons were once used for this purpose, though today most users use empty soda cans or whatever else they can find. Snuff consists of finely powdered tobacco leaves. At one time, aristocrats in Europe and America would inhale small amounts of snuff through their nose to receive the effects of the nicotine. Today, however, snuff is usually sold in small packets that look a little like tea bags, and the user holds a packet in his or her mouth to receive the effect. The effect is similar to chewing tobacco, though not quite as messy, although users still must regularly spit out the juice. While smokeless tobacco has never been as popular as cigarettes, its popularity has remained fairly steady, while cigarette use has declined. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that today about 3 percent of the US adult population currently uses chewing tobacco on a regular basis. The gender divide is very high when it comes to smokeless tobacco use. The CDC reports that about 7 percent of the male population of

12

Cigarettes and Tobacco Products: The Predatory Drug