Smokeless is not Safe

To a confirmed people watcher an airport provides an endless variety of fellow humans in all manner of dress and duress. With two whole hours to kill before my next flight and not in a particular reading frame of mind, I decided to go “character gathering” by simply observing the people around me. My eyes soon lighted on a handsome, blond young man (everybody looks young these days) who looked about late twenties, devouring the pages of a war thriller as ravenously as the pack of overpriced Combos. Hardly raising his head he demolished the snack and washed it down with an even pricier brand of spring water.

Expecting him to now morph into the pages, my curiosity peaked as he reached into his pocket removed a flat tin about the size of a cough lozenge container, and began flicking and turning the tin with a rhythm and thoroughness obviously born of considerable practice. I thought, Snuff? Then immediately, naw. Too young, too handsome, too obviously smart. Wrong. He twisted the lid from the tin, dipped a pincer full, made the deadly pouch between teeth and lower lip, and clamped his mouth shut. His only movement before boarding time was to spit brown, tobacco juice in his empty Fiji Spring water bottle.

Once the whole aesthetics receded to the background I started thinking about tobacco ads or more specifically ads on quitting smoking. What do they all have in common? Smoke. So without a doubt, one could easily infer once there is no smoke there is equally no danger or significantly less in choosing other forms of tobacco consumption. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is not a research paper so a quick click to Webmd.com provided all the information needed. 

Here are a few of the highlights.

“Smokeless tobacco products include chewing tobacco, snus, and snuff. Although these products are less harmful than smoking cigarettes, they are just as addictive as cigarettes and do have serious health risks.

White, leathery patches (leukoplakia) that form on the inside of the cheek or on the gum. These patches can turn into cancer of the mouth (oral cancer), involving the lip, tongue, or cheek.

Dental problems, such as abrasion of teeth, gum recessions, and periodontal bone loss.

An increased risk of pancreatic cancer.

Nicotine from smokeless tobacco can lead to nicotine dependence. This can make quitting smokeless tobacco just as hard as quitting cigarettes.”

He who dies slowly, or differently – still dies. Smokeless is not safe.