you don't smoke it. You don't swallow it. All you do is slosh it around your mouth and spit out the brown juices every few seconds. So smokeless tobacco must be better than smoking, right?
Unfortunately, no. Smokeless doesn't mean harmless. Chewing tobacco can cause cancer and other problems, just like smoking cigarettes. There's no such thing as a "safe" tobacco product.
What Is Smokeless Tobacco?
Smokeless tobacco is also called spit tobacco, chewing tobacco, chew, chaw, dip, plug, and probably a few other things. It comes in two forms: snuff and chewing tobacco.
Snuff is a fine-grain tobacco that often comes in teabag-like pouches; users "pinch" or "dip" it between their lower lip and gum.Chewing tobacco comes in shredded, twisted, or "bricked" tobacco leaves; users put it between their cheek and gum.
Whether it's snuff or chewing tobacco, you're supposed to let it sit in your mouth and suck on the tobacco juices, spitting often to get rid of the saliva that builds up. This sucking and chewing allows nicotineto be absorbed into the bloodstream through the tissues in your mouth. You don't even need to swallow.
Smokeless tobacco can irritate your gum tissue, causing it to recede or pull away from your teeth. Once the gum tissue recedes, your teeth roots become exposed, creating an increased risk of tooth decay. Exposed roots are also more sensitive to hot and cold or other irritants, making eating and drinking uncomfortable.
In addition, sugars, which are often added to enhance the flavor of smokeless tobacco, can increase your risk for tooth decay. A study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association showed that chewing tobacco users were four times more likely than nonusers to develop tooth decay.
Smokeless tobacco also typically contains sand and grit, which can wear down your teeth.