Teens Use of Smokeless Tobacco

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The consumption of tobacco is probably the most harmful thing you can do to your body and health. Most people that consume tobacco do so in the form of a cigarette, but lately there has been another form of tobacco that is cause for concern among younger age groups: smokeless tobacco. Smokeless tobacco contains the same addictive nicotine found in a cigarette but it is chewed rather than smoked. The tobacco or plug sold in pouches is a long thick strand of tobacco. Smokeless tobacco is also available as moist snuff, which is a moist fine grain loose tobacco that is sold in cans. The tobacco is placed in the mouth between the cheek and gum and sucked. The chewing action releases the nicotine. snuff, which is a moist fine grain loose tobacco that is sold in cans. The user of snuff takes a “dip” which is place in the cheek and sucked upon. This sucking action releases the nicotine the same as a plug. Smokeless tobacco users enjoy the sensation of the tobacco in the mouth and the saliva that it produces. The excess saliva is then not swallowed but spit out because it can cause stomach irritation. This repeat process of spitting is an addiction on it's own and is a tradition that has been around for hundreds of years among some groups such as baseball players.

Smokeless Tobacco

A Rising Trend with Today’s Youth

Static’s reported by the The American Cancer Society recently reported that over 12 million people use some form of smokeless tobacco with a growing trend in tobacco use among young people especially among young white males. Traditionally, smokeless tobacco was thought to be more popular in the rural south. Recently the group with the biggest increase in smokeless tobacco use has been among children 8-17 years old. Findings from the National Youth Tobacco Survey showed that 12.8% of all tobacco usage is among middle school students and 34.8% among high school students. A study conducted by the American Legacy Foundation on January 28, 2000, found that 4.2% of middle school boys and 11.6% of high school boys use smokeless tobacco. Herb Severson, Ph.D., a scientist at the Oregon Research Institute reported that the average age of smokeless tobacco use is 12, two years younger than the age for cigarette use in his article Addicted to Dipping. Upward trends in the use of smokeless tobacco by younger consumers are thought to be caused by the exploitation of athletes using smokeless tobacco.

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