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Chewing
tobacco and snuff use surges among US boys
By
Will Dunham
WASHINGTON,
March 5 (Reuters) - Use of snuff and chewing tobacco by U.S.
adolescent boys, particularly in rural areas, has surged this decade,
a federal agency said in a report on Thursday that raised concern
among tobacco control advocates.
The
use of such smokeless tobacco products increases the risk of oral
cancer as well as heart disease and stroke. It leads to nicotine
addiction just like cigarette smoking.
The
report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration showed a 30 percent increase in the rate of smokeless
tobacco use among boys aged 12 to 17 from 2002 to 2007. Use by adults
remained stable.
In
2007, the report estimated that 566,000 boys in that age group had
used chewing tobacco or snuff.
"This
trend toward more smokeless tobacco use by kids is of great
concern," Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research at the
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids advocacy group, said in a telephone
interview.
"This
is an industry that has a history of targeting kids because they know
that's when everybody starts," he added.
Among
adolescent boys, the rate of use of smokeless tobacco rose from 3.4
percent in 2002 to 4.4 percent in 2007, according to the report.
McGoldrick
said the increase occurred as smokeless tobacco companies greatly
increased their spending on marketing and introduced a new range of
products.
The
findings reiterated the need for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
to have the power to regulate tobacco products, as legislation being
considered by U.S. lawmakers would do, McGoldrick said.
Use
of smokeless tobacco products was most common in rural areas,
particularly in the South and Midwest, SAMHSA statistician Jim
Colliver said in a telephone interview.
The
findings were based on government surveys in which about 68,000 people
nationwide were questioned annually. Among health and substance use
questions, they were asked whether they had used snuff or chewing
tobacco in the previous month.
An
estimated 7.8 million Americans overall used smokeless tobacco during
2007, according to the report. Men were about 15 times more likely to
use it than women.
More
than half of the adolescent smokeless tobacco users also were current
cigarette smokers, and the figure jumped to two-thirds in ages 18 to
25, according to the report. (Editing by David Storey)
Additional Information and Facts about
Smokeless Tobacco
Nicotine and Smokeless Tobacco Facts
- The average
starting age for a Texas teen using smokeless tobacco is 13.
Source: Texas School Survey of Substance Using Among
Students
- Four percent of
Texas adults use smokeless tobacco, yet 8 percent of Texas
youth use it.
Source: BRFSS Survey; 2006 Youth Tobacco Survey
- Adolescents who
use smokeless tobacco are more likely to become cigarette
smokers.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Dippers may be
exposed to more cancer-causing chemicals than a one-pack-a-day
cigarette smoker, based on the higher nicotine levels per
serving in smokeless tobacco.
Source: American Legacy Foundation
- Regardless of
its form — whether smokeless or cigarettes — all tobacco
contains nicotine, which is highly addictive.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Nicotine
continues to be absorbed in the bloodstream, even after the
smokeless tobacco has been removed from the mouth.
Source: American Legacy Foundation
- Smokeless
tobacco is not a safe substitute for smoking cigarettes. It
can cause cancer and a number of non-cancerous oral
conditions.
Source: U.S. Surgeon General
- Smokeless
tobacco can cause leukoplakia, a disease of the mouth
characterized by white patches and oral lesions. Leukoplakia
can lead to oral cancer and occurs in more than half of all
users in the first three years of use.
Source: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
- Smokeless
tobacco stains teeth a yellowish-brown color, causes bad
breath and dizziness, and can cause bleeding gums and sores
that never heal.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Smokeless
tobacco contains at least 3,000 chemicals, including
formaldehyde, arsenic, acetone and Polonium-210. Urea, which
is found in urine, is also found in smokeless tobacco.
Source: Cancer Control and American Legacy Foundation
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