Some people turn to smokeless tobacco products such as snuff and chewing tobacco as a substitute for cigarettes in the belief that these products are less harmful than inhaled tobacco. Unfortunately, this doesn’t appear to be the case. The National Cancer Institute on their website points out that products such as snuff and chewing tobacco contain at least twenty-eight different carcinogens. These carcinogens increase the risk of a variety of oral cancers such as mouth and lip cancer. A recent study also points to an association between smokeless tobacco and heart disease.

Smokeless Tobacco and Heart Disease: A Study

In a meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal, researchers analyzed eleven different worldwide studies looking at men who used smokeless tobacco. They concluded that snuff and chewing tobacco were associated with an increased risk of both fatal heart attack and fatal stroke. In Sweden, they estimated that up to 5.6 percent of deaths related to heart attack and 5.4 percent of stroke-related deaths were directly associated with thte use of smokeless tobacco.

Chewing Tobacco and Snuff: Why Do People Use Them?

People often start using snuff and chewing tobacco in the belief that using these products will make it easier to give up cigarettes. They’re also used as an alternative to smoking in areas such as restaurants or offices where smoking isn’t allowed. Unfortunately, there’s little evidence that using chewing tobacco and snuff helps a person give up cigarettes. In fact, some people have more trouble giving up smokeless tobacco than they do cigarettes. In some cases, people end up with a double habit – cigarettes and smokeless tobacco – being unable to give up either. This multiplies the health consequences – increasing the risk of heart disease and cancer of the lungs and oral cavity.

What’s the Connection?

How does smokeless tobacco increase the risk of heart disease? Like cigarettes, smokeless tobacco contains nicotine. Many snuff and chewing tobacco users believe they’re getting less nicotine when they use these products in place of cigarettes, but this doesn’t appear to be the case. According to the American Lung Association, holding a single pinch of smokeless tobacco in the mouth for a half-hour is equivalent to smoking three or four cigarettes. Nicotine increases the heart rate and elevates blood pressure which puts additional strain on the heart. One study showed that women are more sensitive to the effects of nicotine on the heart than men which means their risk of heart disease from using smokeless tobacco products could be even higher.

The Bottom Line?

Using snuff and smokeless tobacco increases the risk of both heart attack and stroke, not to mention the increased cancer risk. There are a variety of quit smoking aids available for anyone who wants to kick the habit. Don’t substitute one bad habit for another.