Download - Spit Tobacco
A Short Primer on Spit Tobacco
Roger Dier, BS
UW-Center for Tobacco Research & Education
Northeast Region
What is SPIT TOBACCO?
Loose leaf chewing tobacco
Plug chewing tobacco Dry snuff Moist snuff Fine cut tobacco
Facts About Spit Tobacco
Use is rising among young people 2005 Wisconsin Youth Tobacco Survey 14.4% high school males 2% high school females Rural use higher than urban/suburban use
Smokeless (spit) tobacco is marketed to young people through sports and athletic events
Spit tobacco causes nicotine addiction, periodontal disease, oral cancer
Users can successfully quit
Spit Tobacco - More safe?
Hooking New Spit Users
“Macho” man image
Outdoors--fishing, hunting
Rodeos Car Racing Use it when you
can’t smoke
Hooking New Spit Users
Location
Location
Location
How They Hook ‘em
Techniques that appeal to the “individual,” “risk taker,” “macho man,” and “rugged”
Offer “free” gifts – Coupons
“Educate” youth on how to use the product (Big League Chew … bubble gum marketed in tobacco pouch)
Advertise spit tobacco as a safe alternative to smoking
Hats, Tee-Shirts and Branding
Brand Building
Brand Building
Brand Building
How They Hook ‘em
“New users of smokeless tobacco . . . are most likely to begin with products that are milder tasting, more flavored and/or easier to control in the mouth. (Cherry-flavored Skoal)
After a period of time, there is a natural progression of product switching to brands that are more full-bodied, less flavored, have more concentrated ‘tobacco taste’ than the entry brand.”
(UST document, “The Graduation Theory”)
Spit Tobacco Pharmacology
4.8 mg nicotine/gm of moist snuff x 30 gm/can = 144 mg 144 mg nicotine/(1.8 mg nicotine/cigarette) = 80 cigarettes 80 cigarettes/(20 cigarettes/pack) = 4 packs 1 can snuff = 4 packs of cigarettes
=
pH Manipulation by Industry
Wall Street Journal, October 1994
“US Tobacco routinely adds chemicals to its snuff deliver the free nicotine faster and to make the product stronger.”
-Larry Story, former UST chemist
“The fermentation process involves adding chemicals and, at the end, you add some more chemicals which increase pH too ... Without increasing the pH, you couldn’t get nicotine release.”
-James C. Taft, former UST chemist
Connolly, G.N. (1995). “The marketing of nicotine addiction by one oral snuff manufacturer.” Tob Control 4:73-79
pH Manipulation by Industry
“It (Copenhagen) was brought up to a pH of 7.8 by adding more sodium bicarbonate and ammonium carbonate.”
- Larry Story, former UST chemist
Connolly, G.N. (1995). “The marketing of nicotine addiction by one oral snuff manufacturer.” Tob Control 4:73-79
Chemicals in Spit Tobacco
Cadmium (car batteries)
Polonium 210 (nuclear waste)
Lead (decreased IQ in children nervous system damage)
Formaldehyde (embalming fluid)
Arsenic (rat poison)
Cyanide (used in the gas chamber)
Nitrosamines (potent cancer- causing agents)
Chemicals in Spit Tobacco
Nickel Nicotine Pesticides● Acetaldehyde● Benzopyrene (cancer-causing)● Hydrazine● Uranium 235 and 238● 28 carcinogens
Health Consequences of Nicotine Exposure
Increased heart rate Stroke High blood pressure Delayed wound healing Peptic ulcer disease Low birth weight babies and other
reproductive disorders
Oral Health Effects of Spit Tobacco Usage
Stained teeth
Periodontal disease
Rough patches in the mouth (leukoplakia)
Bad breath (halitosis)
Receding gum line
Oral cancer
Exposure to 28 carcinogens
Graphic slides are next
Not A Safe Alternative
Not A Safe Alternative
Not A Safe Alternative
Keratosis
When Are Users Hooked? When they …
have switched to a stronger brand can’t go more than a few hours without it have strong cravings when they try to
quit reach for a dip first thing in the morning budget
The Cessation ProcessSteps to Recovery
Step 1:
Decide to Quit:
Make a List of
Reasons Why
The Cessation ProcessSteps to Recovery
Step 2:
Set a Quit Date- Two weeks away
The Cessation ProcessSteps to Recovery
Step 3:
See a Health Care Provider
Pharmacotherapy Options
State of Oral Health
The Cessation ProcessSteps to Recovery
Step 4:
Call the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line
The Cessation ProcessSteps to Recovery
Step 5:
Build a Support Team
The Cessation ProcessSteps to Recovery
Step 6:
Your Quit Day