Smokeless Tobacco (Print Version)

Also called: Also called: Chewing tobacco, Dip, Oral tobacco, Snuff, Spit tobacco

Many people who chew tobacco or dip snuff think it's safer than smoking. But you don't have to smoke tobacco for it to be dangerous. Chewing or dipping carries risks like

Cancer of the mouth
Decay of exposed tooth roots
Pulling away of the gums from the teeth
White patches or red sores in the mouth that can turn to cancer

Recent research shows the dangers of smokeless tobacco may go beyond the mouth. It might also play a role in other cancers, heart disease and stroke.

Smokeless tobacco contains more nicotine than cigarettes. Nicotine is a highly additive drug that makes it hard to stop using tobacco once you start. Having a quit date and a quitting plan can help you stop successfully.

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

Start Here

Smokeless Tobacco and Cancer(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/smokeless-tobacco
Smokeless Tobacco and Cancer: Questions and Answers(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/smokeless
Spit Tobacco: A Guide for Quitting(National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) - http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/OralHealth/Topics/SpitTobacco/SpitTobaccoAGuideforQuitting.htm

Overviews

Chewing Tobacco: Not a Risk-Free Alternative to Cigarettes(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/chewing-tobacco/CA00019/METHOD=print
Smokeless Tobacco: Health and Other Effects(National Cancer Institute) - http://dccps.nci.nih.gov/tcrb/less_effects.html

Specific Conditions

Leukoplakia(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/leukoplakia/DS00458/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

Related Issues

Betel Quid with Tobacco (Gutka)(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/smokeless/betel_quid.htm
Quitting Smokeless Tobacco(Family Physicians Inquiries Network) - Links to PDF - http://resources.fpin.org/EBP/PatientHandouts/EBP_2006_04_Tobacco.pdf
Smokeless Tobacco and How to Quit(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_13X_Quitting_Smokeless_Tobacco.asp?sitearea=PED
Smokeless Tobacco: Quitting(National Cancer Institute) - http://dccps.nci.nih.gov/tcrb/less_quit.html

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Tobacco, Smokeless(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Tobacco,+Smokeless%22

Research

Health Harms from Smokeless Tobacco Use(National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids) - Links to PDF - http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0319.pdf
Spit Tobacco No Substitute for Quitting Smoking(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Spit_Tobacco_No_Substitute_for_Quitting_Smoking.asp

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Smokeless tobacco use by south Asian youth in the UK. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18620935&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Smokeless tobacco and cancer. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18598931&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Substitution of smokeless tobacco for cigarettes in Buerger's disease does... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18589234&tool=MedlinePlus
Smokeless Tobacco -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=tobacco,smokeless[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Dictionaries/Glossaries

ABC's of Tobacco(National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids) - http://tobaccofreekids.org/abc/frameset.htm

Organizations

American Cancer Society - http://www.cancer.org/
Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids(National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids) - http://tobaccofreekids.org/
National Cancer Institute - http://www.cancer.gov/
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research - http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/

Statistics

Child and Teen Tobacco Use(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Child_and_Teen_Tobacco_Use.asp?sitearea=PED
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ESP/content/ESP_2_1x_Datos_sobre_el_uso_del_tabaco_en_los_nios_y_adolescentes.asp
Smokeless Tobacco(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/smokeless/smokeless_tobacco.htm

Children

Smokeless Tobacco: Especially for Kids!(National Cancer Institute) - http://dccps.nci.nih.gov/tcrb/less_kids.html

Teenagers

I Quit: What to Do When You're Sick of Smoking, Chewing, or Dipping(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit/iquit/iquit.htm
Smokeless Tobacco(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/tobacco/smokeless.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Oral Cancer - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/oralcancer.html
Quitting Smoking - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/quittingsmoking.html
Smoking - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/smoking.html
Mouth and Teeth - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mouthandteeth.html
Substance Abuse Problems - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/substanceabuseproblems.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Smokeless Tobacco is the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research - http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/

Smokeless Tobacco - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/smokelesstobacco.html