As people become more aware of the dangers of smoking, many are quitting the habit. However, some smokers turn to smokeless substitutes, like chewing tobacco, as they think it’s a better alternative. Changing the way you get your nicotine fix from smoking to chewing tobacco is about as effective as changing from Coke to Pepsi in order to cut down on your soda consumption. Here’s why:

Smokeless tobacco

Chewing tobacco is a form of smokeless tobacco, as are substances like snuff. Chewing tobacco comes in the form of long strands, either leaves, twists or plugs. A piece of the chewing tobacco is then either chewed or put in between gum or teeth and the cheek. The nicotine enters the blood stream through the tissues in the mouth. Once you get the nicotine out of one pinch, you spit it out, rinse, and repeat.

The risks

Some people view chewing tobacco as a better and safer alternative to smoking. Although less lethal, it’s still very harmful. It can lead to a number health conditions, most of which are physically, socially, and oftentimes emotionally damaging.

Addiction. As with cigarettes, chewing tobacco contains nicotine, which is addictive. It’s even possible that more nicotine can be absorbed through chewing as opposed to smoking tobacco. As the body becomes used to the level of nicotine, it may require more. This means chewing more tobacco to get the same effect as before or using tobacco with a higher nicotine content.

Stained teeth. As with smoking, chewing tobacco will cause your teeth to become discolored.

Halitosis. Again, similar to cigarettes, chewing tobacco will cause chronic bad breath.

Gum disease. Chewing tobacco contains sugar and a number of irritants, which eventually result in the gums receding from the teeth in the region that the tobacco is being chewed. After a period this leads to gum disease, which in turn can result in periodontitis and tooth loss.

Tooth abrasion. Coarse particles in chewing tobacco can destroy the enamel layer of the teeth.

Bone loss around teeth roots. This is due to the sugar content and coarse particles in the tobacco.

Cavities. Chewing tobacco has high levels of sugar in it. If chewed for long periods of time, the sugar can stay within the mouth for an excessive amount of time, leading to cavities.

Leukoplakia. Leukoplakia appears as little white areas within the mouth. If chewing continues, it is possible for these lesions to become cancerous.

Increased risk of heart attacks, heart disease and strokes. This is due to the fact that tobacco causes your heart rate and blood pressure to increase dramatically.

Cancer. These include numerous forms of oral cancer, for instance gum, throat, mouth, tongue and lips. The resulting surgery you may have to endure could leave your face disfigured. Other forms of cancer include stomach, pancreatic and kidney.

Spit it out!

There are a lot of dangers connected to chewing tobacco and some of these are life threatening. If you’re a smoker and feel that chewing tobacco is a step down from your usual pack a day, please reconsider. While it won’t give you lung cancer, chewing tobacco doesn’t help smokers quit and may ultimately lead to both smoking and chewing.

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