Research Paper On Smokeless Tobacco

A Mouth Full Tobacco is culture. While used by Native Americans for medicinal and spiritual purposes in its earliest known history, tobacco is now one of the most addictive and dangerous substances on the open market. In the last century this cash crop has become one of the world’s leading causes of cancer, and come to kill hundreds of thousands of individuals every year. Tobacco culture has spread vastly and become a routine aspect in the lives of millions. Smokeless tobacco in particular has become a regularity in the lives of farmers, truck drivers, baseball players and various other groups of people all over the world. Consumers of smokeless tobacco who want to live a healthier life should not continue using smokeless tobacco because it …show more content…
Members of the American Cancer Society write that, “Overall, people who dip or chew get about the same amount of nicotine as regular smokers. They also get at least thirty chemicals that are known to cause cancer.” (ACS 2) With cancer from chewing tobacco often comes jaw removal, black gums and hairy tongue. Research done by Zohaib Khan of the US National Library of Medicine shows that smokeless tobacco use in South Asia is directly linked its increasingly large oral cancer rates. He writes that, “One of the major risk factors associated with the high prevalence of head and neck cancer and oral potentially malignant diseases (OPMD) in this region is smokeless tobacco (SLT).” (Khan 1) Khan’s research shows that, “over 90% of the global smokeless tobacco use burden is in South East Asia; around 100 million people use smokeless tobacco in India and Pakistan alone.” (Khan 1) It’s no coincidence that oral cancer rates in South Asia are so high. Studies done all over the world will consistently show that use of smokeless tobacco is directly linked to various types of …show more content…
Despite the fact that there is evidence that shows smokeless tobacco to be slightly healthier, it is still extremely unhealthy and likely to cause cancer and various cardiovascular issues. While cigarette use primarily causes issues in the lungs, smokeless tobacco attacks the mouth. Doctors of the AHA write that, “Although evidence is consistent with the suggestion that the cardiovascular risks are lower with ST products compared with cigarette smoking, ST products are not without harm.” (Pianno et al. 1520) To settle any sort of debate that there may be between the two products, the doctors go on to write, “clinicians should continue to discourage use of all tobacco products and emphasize prevention of smoking initiation…” (Pianno et al. 1520) Various investigations and studies done on smokeless tobacco users have all yielder similar results: smokeless tobacco is extremely detrimental to the health of the user. While health effects may be slightly lesser than those of cigarettes, both products should be avoided with equal