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